Surfing with the stars

As more and more screen celebrities clock on to the benefits of having their own website, BBC News Online's Rebecca Thomas looks at the messages some are giving out.

Michael Douglas

Age: 55
Credits: Romancing the Stone; Jewel In the Nile; Fatal Attraction; Basic Instinct; Wall Street; Wonder Boys; Traffic

Site vibe: Man of Substance

Douglas's website makes it clear that he takes himself very seriously and expects everyone else to as well.

After several years being marketed as a sex symbol - in Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction - Douglas has repositioned himself as a mature talent.

Protective of this new image, Douglas's site seeps restraint and sophistication. Black is the predominant colour.

Sections including "Up-to-Date" and "New Movies" ensure Douglas has the first and last word on what might be said about him elsewhere.

To prove there is more to Douglas than just being a film star, there is information on his outside concerns, such as nuclear disarmament.

And, for those with real stamina, there is also Douglas's biography, heavy on the hyperbole and praise.

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Catherine Zeta Jones

Age: 31
Credits: Mask of Zorro; Entrapment; The Haunting; High Fidelity; Traffic

Site vibe: A star is born

As the wife of Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones's website looks like a chip off the Douglas block.

Like her husband, the actress's site is carefully managed to emphasise understated style.

Black again is the predominant colour and, like Douglas, the news and biography sections are an excuse to trumpet praise.

But unlike her husband, Zeta Jones is not concerned with proving she is a deep thinker. Instead, plenty of seductive images make it plain that Zeta Jones is determined to promote herself.

And, if you think the site looks good now, promises of more multi-media say that - like Zeta Jones's career - things are on the up.

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Bo Derek

Age: 44
Credits: Orca; 10; Bolero; Change of Seasons; Tarzan

Site vibe: Babe with brains

Derek's been off the big screen for a while but her website explains why.

The actress who rose to fame as the physically "perfect" woman has been busy proving she has a business brain too.

Derek's principle commerce is her own line of doggy products, which she promotes with soothing words and colourful abandon.

But Derek is, so her website would suggest, a woman of contradiction.

As such, she devotes a large section of her site to pushing her former glamour model image, where the only product on offer is Derek herself.

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Melanie Griffith

Age: 43
Credits: Working Girl, Stormy Monday; Pacific Heights; Shining Through; Celebrity; Cecil B Demented

Site vibe: Earth goddess

Melanie Griffith is impressively web savvy but she also seems to have her head in the clouds.

Her site is firstly a spin-off of her company OneWorldLive which runs Griffith's online lifestyle magazine - and designed the site.

But that design, presumably endorsed by Griffith, promotes her site as "Avalon". Avalon was originally the mystical "other world" from Arthurian legend. Griffith has adapted it into her own flower-filled fantasy haven for the world weary.

Presiding over this land, is the "Goddess" Griffith, decked out in floaty full-length gown. The Goddess imparts words of comfort and wisdom to the troubled souls who visit her land.

But despite her supernatural status, the Goddess is the first to admit she is not perfect. Her Recovery Journal invites visitors to share her experience of overcoming an addiction to painkillers.

It's not the sort of thing normally associated with deities. But, then, Avalon never was meant to be real. It's to be hoped visitors find their way out.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger

Age: 53
Credits: Terminator, Predator, End of Days, Twins, True Lies The Sixth Day

Site vibe: Pumping happy

On an internet full of over-stylised star sites, Arnold Schwarzenegger's is a breath of fresh air. A glorious custard yellow adorns every page, reflecting Schwarzenegger's joy at being himself.

Around every corner, he reminds us that he was Mr Universe before he was the Terminator.

Pumping iron puns are highlighted for extra effect. But for the full impact of Schwarzenegger's physique, the Athlete section cradles an eye-boggling animated graphic.

Schwarzenegger is indeed keen on the use of quirky, moving graphics and scatters them liberally over his site.

But despite Schwarzenegger's unbridled glee at being a self-proclaimed athlete, actor and activist, he is not smug. On every page he thinks of his fans.

He addresses them directly, tries to make them laugh and provides the site in four languages. Most of all, he thanks them for their support and for helping him get where he is today along the way.