BETHEL – The Maine Public Broadcasting Network will soon launch a new lifelong learning project to share select Maine senior college programs on the Internet. The project will be the topic of the next Down Home Maine program on Thursday, Dec. 4, sponsored by Western Mountains Senior College, one of 16 in the Maine Senior College Network.

The college will play a key role in the new project, said Seabury Lyon, WMSC member, who serves as a consultant to MPBN on the new Internet project.

MPBN was awarded a grant to survey the use of the Internet for senior colleges, and WMSC had the highest response to the survey in proportion to membership. Since then, WMSC has been awaiting the launching of the project.

The program will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Telstar High School library. MPBN’s Chris Sweet, project manager, and Nick Rosenblum, Web producer, will discuss the project and record the session for use as part of the introduction to the Web site.

Sweet first introduced the concept of the Internet service at a Down Home Maine program last year.

Lyon said, “MPBN will offer us a very attractive and cost-effective way to preserve and share program material that until now has been presented only once and then lost to the community.”

He added that small, easy-to-use video cameras are available to allow senior colleges to record their programs and share them with other colleges online.

WMSC conducts monthly Down Home Maine programs to present information about adventurous Maine people and interesting activities to the community.

The public is invited and admission is free. For more information, contact Lyon at 836-2576.