DIGITAL L.A. : PUTTING GOOD TASTE ASIDE, COLEMAN GOES HIGH-TECH.

Byline: David Bloom 

We all have heroes, people we respect and look up to. Sometimes those heroes stumble, even fall. And sometimes we get a chance to do what we can to help them.

That's not exactly the case with the Gary Coleman Web-a-thon on UGO Networks (at www.ugo.com), but hey, it sounded dramatic. Actually, the Web-a-thon idea started as a bit of a goof back in August when word got out that Coleman had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, after he, his managers and family blew through about $18 million.

``I was contacted and they said `We want to give you money,' '' Coleman said. ``When they first called me, I said I don't know about this. This doesn't sound like something a lot of people would want to do. But they love me as a person and as a talent.''

He confesses to never being a technology person. But then Coleman, the diminutive former child star of the inexplicably long-running TV show ``Diff'rent Strokes,'' decided he liked this new Internet thingy.

``It's very fun,'' Coleman said. ``I like it. The potential for income I could realize through UGO Networks is absolutely delicious to me.''

UGO Networks started out as a gaming site and has branched out into other entertainment and pop culture areas targeting 18- to 34-year-olds, said Joe Robinson, the company's chairman. The company jumped on the Coleman event because its employees and customers grew up watching his show.

``Gary Coleman is a beloved cultural icon to many people in the UGO generation,'' Robinson said. ``We wanted to help him any way we could.''

The site features such weirdness as Pez dispensers, votive candles, ``Save Me'' T-shirts and Zippo lighters with Coleman's face; games such as Gario Brothers and Coleman; a 3-D dancing Gary; and an MP-3 file of a rap song by Coleman, among other surreality.

There are some funny streaming video gags, such as ``Diff'rent Jobs,'' and ``Gary Coleman TV Auditions,'' where he ``tries out for television parts to fill the `black actor' quota on TV.''

Perhaps the funniest, goofiest feature is the Web-a-thon itself, which will continue through Nov. 28. You can bid on signed Coleman belongings, including a spatula, bowling shoes and ball, leather couch and 27-inch television. The site is also auctioning off ``a yellow, pin-striped pimp suit'' Coleman wore recently, and signed T-shirts and other memorabilia contributed by other entertainers.

You can contact Coleman by e-mail at garycolemanugo.com. Coleman said he's received plenty already, some quite supportive, others rather vigorously less so.

Whatever happens with the Web-a-thon, Coleman's career is already picking up a bit. He's appeared on the Howard Stern Show and is shooting a TV commercial for a Florida phone company. He also is working as a radio DJ intern on the morning drive-time show of KRQ in Tucson, Ariz. (you can ``tune'' in at www.krq.com).

And if his bankruptcy goes through in early January, Coleman said he'll have a fresh start on his financial life and his future.

Set your heart racing

Between a flurry of conferences, Web launches and other events lately, I've been running around faster than Jeff Gordon on amphetamines. In honor of this pre-holiday freneticism, here's a quick rundown of some of the PlayStation racing titles - many of them taking a nicely different take on the genre - that I've tried out the past couple of months:

Hot Wheels Turbo Racing (Electronic Arts) I just love this game, which is also on the N64, and so did my Hot Wheels fanatic of a young son. What makes this great for even young players is that your car (choose from a couple of dozen of those fabulous Hot Wheels designs from over the decades) can't ever jump the track, letting you focus on performing fun tricks every time you hit a jump. The game also has ``crash 'em'' and trick modes.

Jet Moto 3 (989 Studios): This solid franchise again perches you on a motorcycle-like Hovercraft that zips along a couple of feet off the ground on tracks more twisted and treacherous than anything Anakin Skywalker ever essayed. Think of it as Pod Racing Lite, with only one rocket engine. Excellent graphics, and the physics of the bikes are cool.

Sled Storm (Electronic Arts): Another oddball racing game that's actually good fun, even if it is totally foreign to the Southern California lifestyle. Pilot a big, balky snowmobile against jostling competition over courses littered with jumps and obstacles, but minus the frostbite. That's a good thing.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (Activision): North San Diego County's finest lends his name (and those of nine other stars) to this excellent skateboarding game. I love that you can skate off just about anything, including police cars, who come to bust you in some of the skating areas.

Chocobo Racing (Square Soft): A cute title featuring characters from Square's durable Final Fantasy role-playing franchise. Don't ask why they suddenly all became racers, but the game itself has a few quirks that make it somewhat distinctive, and likely to appeal to younger players and FF freaks.

Crash Team Racing (Sony): The big bandicoot returns in a racing game that's not that far from some of the best levels in his three best-selling adventures. I like it well enough, but it didn't much hold the attention of my young children, despite the fact that they are huge fans of Crash otherwise.

Monaco Grand Prix (Ubi Soft): European-style Grand Prix racing on 16 courses with nicely done physics, and support for linking two PlayStations together so up to four people can race each other (this game is also on the Dreamcast and Nintendo 64). I'm not a huge fan of Grand Prix, but if you are, this title isn't bad to tide you over between dispatches from the Continent.