The Diamond Star needs you. If you happen to know the year her movie with Gina Alajar ("Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit") came out, please visit her at www.instanet.com/~dseeholzer/maricelhome.html.

Nope, Maricel Soriano hasn't moved out of her White Plains abode. She has just built a new "home" that she can share with everybody via the Internet. Ditto with Dina Bonnevie, Dawn Zulueta, Gary Valenciano, Aga Muhlach, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Sharon Cuneta, Mikee Cojuangco and Albert Martinez, among others.

Invariably called the homepage, the webpage, or the website, this cyberspace for the stars is a long and graphically attractive (thus, expensive) resume. Everything that needs to be known about the actor is here: life story, movie career, latest project, interests, hobbies, newspaper/magazine articles - and loads of photographs! Stars' websites generally have the same format, so it is advisable not to access many sites in quick succession.

Photo Gallery

If you take your time, you will appreciate the effort the star has exerted in reaching out to us. For instance, Dawn Zulueta (www.instanet.com/-dseeholzer/dawnhome.html): In her photo gallery, Dawn candidly exposes herself with the use of her own collection of photographs and the stories behind each of them. In the "Pre-Dawn Era," we see Dawn as a cute little girl who wears her grandfather's rubber slippers and pretends to be his little shadow.

"Dawn Begins" showcases the many phases of Dawn's career in showbiz, beginning with her initial packaging as a singer-actress until the time she becomes a multi-awarded performer. The "Artistic Side," on the other hand, is like a mini-gallery of Dawn's paintings. Done mostly in watercolor, Dawn's creations are far from flawless but definitely aren't amateurish. In fact, each artwork here is a vivid reflection of the artist's sensitive and intellectual nature.

"All wanted to see was a long road of trees with a multitude of people heading for the farthest point. And I wanted to achieve it by also using bright and wild colors," she writes in describing one of her paintings, "Exodus."

Other Loves

Meanwhile, "Innocence" introduces us to the actress' other loves, her dog Bunting which has been her faithful companion for the last 11 years and the tropical fish which died at age two.

The homepage also features Dawn's wedding pictures. Dawn shares her happiness with her fans as her radiant face illumines the screen. A real treat, indeed, since Dawn hasn't been visible lately.

Dina Bonnevie is seen everyday on television but it's still worthwhile to access her homepage at www.stormviz.com/ms.d/. In fact, it features a collection of photographs culled from "Ms D!": On cam (when Dina celebrated her birthday on her show) and behind-the scenes (something like a photo essay of what's happening when the camera's not grinding). We would have enjoyed this section if the captions accompanying the photos were noteworthy and not a rigid as a merely stating the names of the host and her guests, period.

What's more interesting is Dina's complete listing of her movies and television shows. For the record, Dina has done 42 movies. Although she was launched in "Katorse," the very first movie she did was "Temptation Island," a sexy drama produced by Regal Films and shown in January, 1980.

Citations

This is how detailed the entries are in Dina's Filmography. The same geos for the "Awards" section, where Dina lists not only her acting citations but also the gold record award she got in 1981 for the single "Bakit Ba Ganyan."

Her commercial endorsements are also properly labeled with the name of the product, the advertising agency, the year the ad came out, and the number of years it ran.

Needless to say, Ms. D has a keen eye for detail and keeps everything in order. We wouldn't be surprised to see the same elements in her "real home."

Another good website is Mikee Cojuangco's (www.stormviz.com/mikee). It is built around Mikee's equestrienne persona. The menu map has titles taken from the sport: "Cadence" for the latest news, "On the Aids" for her socio-political activities, "Capriole" for TV and movies, "Dressage" for her modeling stints, etc.

Although Mikee isn't dressed for the sport on the main page, her trademark horse emblem, nonetheless, has a prominent space here. The page specially dedicated to Mikee's chosen sport is "Schoolmaster," which keep a record of the competitions she has participated in.

A lot of people many have been surprised by Mikee's inclusion in the impressive cast of the musicals "Larawan" and "Sino Ka Ba, Jose Rizal?" But according to her homepage, Mikee has been interested in theater arts even before joining the movies.

Summer Workshop

In fact, in 1982 she attended Reportory Philippines' summer workshop and for its showcase production, she played the Siamese Virgin in Fr. James Reuter's "The Doll That Nobody Wanted." Four years later, Mikee played the lead role of the Japanese Doll for Colegio de San Agustin's grade school drama club.

Lea Salonga, on the other hand, has always been associated with theater and her website at www.xnet.com/~wmeister/LEA/ underscores this even more. She has linked up with Playbill OnLine that provides information on the world of stage. Basic facts about Lea are condensed in "The Index Page" and we wish for more personal information about her. But she is known to be very private and this is very evident in her homepage.

Maricel Soriano could be thinking the same thing. She values her privacy so much that all she can share with her fanns are her current movie projects, her TV appearances, her awards, a random listing of her contributions to show business, a guest book where he fans can key in some message, and a link to other website.

Entire Family

Pops Fernandez is exactly the opposite. Accessing the Concert Queen at www.stormviz.com/pops/ is like personally visiting her at the Nievera home in Alabang. She lets you meet her entire family - husband Martin, sons Ram and Robin, mother Dulce Lukban and siblings. She introduces you to her friends, most of whom are not from show biz. She lets you know even more about her relationship with them via accompanying write-ups done with warmth and affection.

Pops' fashion flair is in full display here. She is well-dressed in all the photos. We get the feeling that Pops has carefully chosen all the pictures here. There is also a section that records the many times Pops has graced the covers of magazines. By the way, "Pops' Cycles" appears to be a favorite article title, it was used at least three times.

Marcile Laxa's webpage (www.philippinesl.com/maricel) is similarly personal and inviting. She shares not only her baby pictures but also her husband Anthony's and their children's. One thing different about this homepage is the literature is not about the star or her profession but rather on breastfeeding and childbearing!

Gary Valenciano's website at www.cnl.net/~garyV is an endless display of photographs. Sure it's a visual delight but sadly, it lacks depth and even suggests distance. And it doesn't help that the text is a mere listing of facts about Gary. It is so un-Gary V - in person, he radiates an aura of congeniality and boundless energy.

Same goes for Sharmaine Arnaiz (www.stormviz.com/sharmaine), Gelli de Belen (www.stormviz.com/gelli/), Ruffa Gutieerrez (www.ruffa.com), Donita Rose (www.stormviz.com/rachel/). They have well-designed webpages - trouble is, they have failed to capture the stars' personallity and character.

No Explanation

Gelli has the fleur de lis icon on her homepage but there is no explanation why it is there. It could have been an interesting instrument for baring Gelli's sensitive side. The public knows her as a very strong personality.

Rachel has the brilliant idea of treating her visitors to a cyber concert. Problem is, not all computers are equipped to receive and reproduce sound. So, we skip that audio-visual part and are left with textual inadequacy.