The shear induced backbone segment orientation and deformation of the polymeric chromophore diacetylene 4-butoxycarbonylmethylurethane (4BCMU) in semi-dilute solution has been measured with an extended dichroism technique. At low shear rates the random coil, visco-elastic polymer shows orientation in the flow direction. At higher shear rates a reduction in the average conjugation length is observed with an increase in the number of segments orienting perpendicular to the flow direction. Novel behavior, which is not consistent with standard models. is observed for this visco-elastic polymer at high shear rates. The results presented are discussed in view of prior experimental and theoretical work. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.