"On the air is a strange concept, because these things are just computer files. It's really asynchronous radio or random access radio," said [Carl Malamud], 33, a writer from Arlington, Va. He explained that the program could be stopped, started, rewound or forwarded like a tape recorder, but from virtually any desk top computer.

The program will feature an interview - "the geek of the week," is how Malamud describes the segment - theme music, book reviews and features geared toward the on-line world. For instance, a "traffic report" might warn Internet users if parts of the network crash or are overloaded. "We will be kind of a National Public Radio for that world," he said. "We'll assume that our listeners are intelligent and we won't talk down to them."