Some girls dream of living in the public eye as movie stars or Miss USA, but soon five will surpass this when their lives are spotlighted for a year on the World Wide Web.

The contest, sponsored by Maybelline, runs through tomorrow and is open to girls ages 16 to 24.

"It might be like 'The Real World' on the Web," said Patti Rankin, general manager of the Frognet Internet service provider.

To enter, girls first must log onto Maybelline's Internet site and provide basic information about themselves. After this initial round, Maybelline will randomly select 500 girls and send them questionnaires. Those selected also must provide a picture before 25 semifinalists are selected for phone interviews judged on originality, creativity and personal style.

"We are thrilled to give young women a chance to share and learn from each other while having fun," said Ketan Patel, Maybelline's vice president of marketing. "Plus it gives us a chance to bring Maybelline to life in a way that hasn't been done."

But some say this type of promotion has been done before.

"It's not really an innovative idea by any means, but it is an effective way of advertisement," Rankin said. "They are trying to make people come back to their Web site, and by getting these girls to document their lives, people will follow it and keep going back."

The Maybelline five will share their experiences, opinions and make-up style through journal entries and photographs. Maybelline will edit any personal information and will not use the girls' real names or anything that could identify them. But to some, the question of exploitation remains.

"They are going to be like people on 'The Real World' with these girls having their whole lives entrenched with local and national media once they are chosen," senior Betsy McCann said.

Junior Tyle Fernandez agrees exploitation could occur.

"Not having their names in doesn't make them safe," he said. "It is a national contest and people are going to know where they are. It seems like Maybelline is just using them for publicity."

Maybelline begins their year in the spotlight with a paid trip for two to New York City. The five girls will also receive their own iMAC computer, a makeover, $500 spending money in New York and a year's supply of make-up.

"This program could be a positive thing," junior Michelle Paolella said. "I think it has a lot of potential if they do it in the right way, by addressing issues facing women."

Some students doubt Maybelline will execute it in the best way.

"This program could be amazing if they take young women who have done influential things," McCann said. "But this just seems like it will be an Internet soap opera. It is a progression from the teen magazines to find the new cover girls."

Many women also wonder how fair the final pick will be.

"The thing is they are not going to look for a girl who is not tall, thin, and wears no make-up," senior Stacy Recht said. "This is obviously just a marketing ploy to make it seem like Maybelline isn't a company that just sells make-up."

Some also think the contest is more about a cover girl image than finding positive role models.

"I think this industry exploits everyone and it's awful to make people feel like they have to wear make-up to feel good about themselves. It's a horrible way to make money," Rankin said.