Though it debuted only five months ago, YouTube.com attracts 6 million visitors each day to watch two-minute video clips that amount to the Internet's version of "America's Funniest Home Videos" meets "American Idol." Every day, users stock the site with 35,000 homemade videos of lip-syncing, dancing, silly animation and commentaries on any topic, all of which are commented on and rated by viewers.

Fast Internet connections and digital video cameras are giving average people a new avenue to fame. With other homegrown phenomena such as Web logs, or blogs, and radio-style podcasts, the Internet is changing people's relationships to the media and putting more power into the hands of consumers.

Big corporations want in on the action, and giants such as Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., AOL LLC and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN have launched video sites of their own. But YouTube's do-it-yourself popularity, fueled by word of mouth, catapulted the site past its bigger competitors in months. That success is drawing the attention of mainstream media.

"Marketers are already interested in looking at how to invest in it," said Lucian James, president of Agenda Inc., a brand marketing firm. "It comes at a perfect time when brands are looking beyond the 30-second commercial and are looking for new ways to connect to their audience."