The State of the Union in Web time

Consider this example of "Internet time": President Clinton's State of the Union Address will be on television Thursday night, but reactions from his political friends and foes will be online even before the speech is given.

FreedomChannel.com, a World Wide Web site devoted to politics, says it will have congressional commentary on the president's speech online during the day Thursday.

Members of the House and Senate will be given 90 seconds to react to the president's address — details of which already are leaking from the White House. Or lawmakers may opt to present their own mini state of the union address.

Members of Congress will be able to tape their comments from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday outside the Capitol.

FreedomChannel, which hit cyberspace Nov. 8, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan Web site dedicated to providing "video-on-demand" politics to Internet users.

The service provides video clips of candidates and issue groups. It is free to politicians and viewers, and is funded by grants from foundations.

After the State of the Union address, FreedomChannel will turn its attention to upcoming congressional and gubernatorial elections, spokesman Mike McGill said. The site will post videotaped messages provided by candidates and campaign organizations.