a culture fascintated with celebrities - online, offline or ugh?

People.com - the web extension of the 3.62 million-circ People, the 34-year-old chronicle of entertainers we love and remarkable everyday people - grew its audience by an eye-popping 48% in 2007.

People.com has grown by attracting a bit of a different audience than its venerable, influential print counterpart - a younger, more celebrity-fixated demo for whom the 24/7 newscycle is second nature. The site has established its own identity - focusing on breaking celebrity news, beefing up video offerings - rather than simply transporting the People magazine formula to the Web.

Unlike some of its snarkier brethren, People.com reporters - like those for the mothership People magazine - have built a reputation for getting it right when it comes to reporting on celebrities, Golin boasts, snagging consumer loyalty in an age of blogs, camera phones and Photoshop.

With celebrity news breaking virtually by the minute, it is important, of course, to be fast, but People.com also seeks to provide the most comprehensive coverage on the Web. With that in mind, the site is prepping the launch of News Storm, whereby People.com, during major breaking news events will be transformed into a wall-to-wall news source on whatever bomb gets dropped into the celebrisphere.

Miss Bimbo, a virtual fashion game aimed at UK girls aged 9 to 16 reflects the toxicity of this fascination with celebrity culture ala Paris Hilton.

Read more in the Trend Lab on 10.