An international trail-blazing science drama is being launched today on the World Wide Web.

The stories in this soapie take a humorous look at the social lives of six scientists as they struggle to solve the mystery of the the missing carbon sink. The characters are played by young scientists from CSIRO.

"As a scientist, I'm offended by the negative stereotypes usually portrayed in the media," says Dr Simon Torok, who conceived the series. "Young people need to get more of an idea about what it's really like to be a scientist."

The social action will parallel the scientific themes, and an interactive reality check section will allow readers to obtain more information about the science.

"The soapie is really a trojan horse to attract people not usually interested in science to find out about current scientific issues. We are trying to make science fun, without making fun of science," Dr Torok said.

Later in the year, a study of the popularity of the series will compare it to soapies based in more traditional settings.

The project is supported by the Science Engineering and Technology Awareness Program of the federal Department of Industry, Science and Technology.

Check out COLAB at <http://soap.csiro.au>

CONTACT : DR SIMON TOROK 06 246 5558 (W) 06 282 5269 (H)