For the rest of the TV season, Web-savvy "Dawson's Creek" lovers can log on to Dawson's Desktop to read a work-in-progress screenplay, ostensibly written by the TV show's title character (James Van Der Beek) about two of his own fictional "soulmates" Wade and Sammy. Each week at 9:01 p.m. (one minute after "Dawson" finishes on the WB), the creators of Dawson's Desktop post original e-mails, journal entries, and script revisions -- all produced in tandem with the creators of the TV show. "This is a chance for viewers to enter Dawson's universe on an intimate level," says Chris Pike, manager of development at Columbia TriStar Interactive. "This site creates a fictional world where the characters stay in character. On the regular "Dawson's Creek" site, everything's based in reality, but on the Desktop, there are no actors. It's actually Dawson's computer."

All of the copy on the Desktop is written and approved by "Dawson" writer Arika Mittman and the show's producers. So the online screenplay is the same script Dawson will read from or work on in several upcoming episodes. "Our main objective is to get people to tune-in for the show," Pike says. "We figured the Desktop lets users be part of the show's world."