SOAPS may be big business, but one of British soap fans' most popular web sites is run by two schoolboys.
Soap Heaven is the brainchild of 16-year-old Andy Baker, from Newcastle, and his friend, Adrian Murphy, 17, who is based in Ireland. Each evening after school, they work together over the Internet, posting the latest news from Brookside and views from Albert Square.
And in his recent spare moments, Andy even managed to fit in time to sit nine GCSEs.
A self-confessed soap addict, Andy had the idea for the site late last year. He says: "When I got on the Internet, I found that the Australian soaps were pretty much covered, but when it came to the others, and gossip, you had to jump around to get them. I thought a site with all the soaps would be a good idea, but got fed up waiting for one, so Adrian and I teamed up to create one ourselves."
The boys, who met through an Internet bulletin board, learned their web skills as they went along. "Adrian does most of the coding and I write most of the content. It's a good partnership - we work well together," says Andy.
As well as being webmasters, the pair also has to keep up to date with all the soaps. How do they manage to find the time? Andy says it isn't a chore. "We watch most of the soaps most night, although we both had to ease off when we had our exams. But we aren't just watching them just because of the site - they are an enjoyment."
Although it took many hours of work to build Soap Heaven, he says, updating it now takes only a couple of hours each week. Andy's Internet service provider offers free web space to all subscribers.
The boys hold regular opinion polls and answer a host of e-mail, usually from people who want to know what is going to happen next in a particular soap. Although the partners have not yet been tempted to cash in on the site's popularity, they can see its potential.
Andy, who plans a future career in public relations or marketing, says: "We think there is a gap in the market for commercial sites of this kind. But the only way to make money is to charge people, and we don't really want to go into that, although we might consider sponsorship."
Soap Heaven does not cover cybersoaps, but the boys have been asked to host one, and may take it on as part of a revamp of the site in coming months.
But for the moment, Andy will stick with television, and his favourite programme - Eastenders.
Soap Heaven: http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/2533/
[The article is accompanied by a photo of Dot Cotton with a ciggie in her mouth and umbrella in hand]
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geocities.com/televisioncity)