MTV is looking to tap the good in the youth market with a new online community designed to help users get involved and recognize those who take action.

A beta version of Think.MTV.com launched Thursday, backed by the financial support of several major foundations and the star power of celebrity.

MTV sees the site as a way to be relevant online with the youth audience. The network did a study last year that found 80 percent of young people want to help their community and take action to support causes, but only 19 percent describe themselves as “very involved.”

The site will give young people a place to go to find information about getting involved and the tools to find and mobilize other people with similar interests, said Ian Rowe, VP of public affairs and strategic partnerships for MTV.

Young people will be able to get involved in issues and causes ranging from genocide in the Sudan to the need for a traffic light on a neighborhood street corner, Mr. Rowe said.

“Young people yearn to be recognized for the good work they’re doing,” said Mr. Rowe. The new site will become a platform for MTV’s current social campaign, such as its Choose or Lose vote efforts, its Break the Addiction Campaign to reduce oil consumption and It’s Your (Sex) Life safe-sex initiative.

The site will be promoted by MTV, which reached millions of young people every day, Mr. Rowe said.

But other organizations will be able to become partners with Think.MTV.com and piggyback on the site. Already participating are the United Nations and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Those organizations’ Web sites will include links that feed users into Think.MTV.com.

Foundations backing the site include the Case Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Goldhirsh Foundation and the MCJ Foundation,

Celebrity participants include Bono, Jay Z, Brad Pitt, Petra Nemcova, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Rock, John Mayer, Shakira, Ryan Seacrest, John Legend, Jeff Sachs, Rosario Dawson, and Nick Cannon.

Young people who use the site to do good will be rewarded with prizes such as hanging out with the aforementioned stars, access to exclusive MTV events, exposure on MTV and other national media outlets, plus grants, scholarships and more.

The site also will carry advertising. Mr. Rowe said he expected it to be mainly corporations with cause-related marketing efforts, such as Microsoft’s IM Making a Difference campaign, which donates money to causes for each Instant Message a participant sends.

(Editor: Horowitz)