CAN WE CHAT? OSCARS GO ON-LINE.

Byline: Elizabeth M. Cosin Daily News Staff Writer

Another laborious Oscar night has barely started, and half of America is glued to the set, checking their NCAA pool sheets, channel changing for a "Murphy Brown" rerun or popping off to the world about Sharon Stone's braless look.

That's the world, as in World Wide Web, as in cyber chat.

As in, so that's where all the "Babe" fans went.

The most talked-about film in America Online's Backstage Buzz chat area was about the pig. But nothing seemed too sacred for cyber-chatsters looking for their 15 words of fame.

The show itself got a thumbs-down from the cyber crowd, with comments including, "Remember when Oscars used to have those unexpected moments?" from WC333, and, "Is it me or is the show kinda dragging this year?" from KNeil53471.

Anjelica Huston got a keyboard full when her microphone seemed to malfunction, making her presentation barely audible.

Bruce Springsteen also drew negative remarks. BeaDea: "He's dead man singing." VIDGRIPMAN: "He looks like Dracula."

And from Rwtrun, a step ahead of Whoopi Goldberg's joke writers: "Bruce should lighten up."

Yes, there were some discussions about the Oscars. "Babe" was the favorite, and "Braveheart" also received positive attention.

ChapWest summed up the argument in favor of the Gibson adventure film when he said, "Come on. Babe is a pig. ("Braveheart's") William Wallace freed a country."

Line-of-the-night honors are shared by J5E70 for his comment on Robin Williams - "Now for the best of short subject in black and white" - and MagcTorch, who said, "Why can't the stars bring their personalities to the show?"

Whoopi got good reviews from the chatters; her opening monologue was well-received, and on-liners were pleased that it didn't drag on.

A discussion of potential hosts named Jim Carrey, Dana Carvey, Jay Leno or the return of David Letterman. Others fixated on Barbra Streisand as a future host, perhaps to prove they could spell her first name correctly.

Sharon Stone's attire was a big topic of conversation, with most echoing the comments of J Sabes, "That was the highlight of the night," and See Gee Me, who said, "Her 18-hour bra is on its 19th hour."

Rosiiii was "so glad Susan Sarandan won."

The conversation heated up after the show came to a close, and the running commentary droned on well into Barbara Walters' post-show show.

A sampling:

Xcskirum: "Dead Man Walking should have won."

MasaMune35: "That's very interesting."

Poitier: "Wasn't nominated."

JerNF: "Braveheart was good, but not very original? Babe was very original."

Rjgergoire: "Sean Penn is a fine actor, one of the best."

Mast007: "Sorry, I'm late. Which picture won best picture?"

Rosiiii: "Jim Carrey was funny."

MasaMune35: "Do you know if like, any celebrities are coming online?"

Finally, a comment on the rest of ABC's evening programing from MilesDvis3: "ACK! BABA WAWA coming on. RUN FOR YOUR LIVES"