Site Offers Hopefuls Shot at Virtual Stardom

Los Angeles is full of would-be stars struggling to get their first break. Soon there will be a Web site to help them.

Iam.com will host a virtual community of actors, models, musicians and dancers with the goal of increasing their chances of being discovered. The site will include a “multimedia talent search tool” to help casting directors, talent agencies and other industry professionals sort through head shots, songs and other digital performances in order to zero in on the best talent.

The site won’t be launched until early next year, but at least eight people who register with the Santa Monica-based site before Jan. 1 will get some national exposure. Iam.com is conducting its own casting call to find eight artists to feature in a commercial that will air in Los Angeles and New York during the Academy Awards presentation show next spring. The commercial also will air on MTV and be supported by a print campaign in Entertainment Weekly, Variety, Billboard and other industry publications.