Austin Powers, due June 11 in movie theaters, will also be appearing soon in e-mail boxes.

New Line Cinema is working with togglethis, a New York multimedia company, on a weekly "show" featuring the movie spy, as a part of a promotion for the new movie "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me."

The promotion involves an interactive program delivered via e-mail. Users download the player and are then sent 20K script files once a week. New Line previously worked with togglethis on a promotion for "Lost in Space."

The Austin Powers promo will be available for download at the movie's Web site, through togglethis and portals like America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL) and Lycos Inc. (Nasdaq:LYCS)

New line will also promote the show on cable TV, in movie theaters and through home video.

The six-episode "Lost in Space" promo, which ran in June 1998, pulled in more than 100,000 viewers and had an average click-through rate of 25 percent, sending users to either the movie's web site or the sponsor's site.

"It's really a great branding a opportunity for these entertainment sites," said Paul Maya, CEO of togglethis. "It lets you interact with and spend time with the brand, but it also drives people to action. It's all about driving people to action -- buying tickets, finding out about other movies."

The 12-part Austin Powers series will let users attend school with the character, learning how to be "an International Person of Mystery." Episodes will feature lessons like "How to Spot a Fembot" and "How to Use your Mojo."

Dr. Evil, I presume

The episodes will feature characters from the movie including Austin Powers, played by Mike Meyers, and his nemesis, Dr. Evil, as well an animated Richard Branson, who's Virgin Atlantic company is sponsoring the show.

Using the Net as a promotional vehicle is nothing new in the entertainment industry. Most movies now debut with their own Web sites, complete with photos, information about the film and the actors, and occasionally games and multimedia applications.

"The studios definitely have to get more sophisticated, and do things outside of throwing up a Web site," said Anya Sacharow, an analyst at Jupiter Communications in New York. "Anything that's more interactive, like a game or character that people can distribute, can build awareness and anticipation."