Science education is 'boring', 'stultifying' and 'pointless', according to the most recent Science Technology Committee's Science Education from 14-19 report (July 2002). For girls, physics is a particular turn-off, and of all physics 'A' level entries in the UK, only 20% are female. Before we start blaming the teachers, bear in mind that it's not their fault that the curriculum is overloaded with factual content and assessment arrangements. And it is not that science itself is dull. It is at least partly that so few decent resources or opportunities exist for teenagers to engage with the stuff of science and see how it relates to their world. But that's now changing.

Launching in January 2003, Planet Jemma is an online NESTA initiative aimed at 11-16 year-old girls, which fuses the tension of good quality TV drama with the challenge of scientific endeavour. "We wanted the story to have an equal mix of science and gossip," the project originator, Holly Moore, told us. "Within it we aim to introduce the viewers to some really amazing concepts in science that will stimulate debate and the imagination."

At the centre of the narrative is Jemma, a young woman embarking on her first year as a physics undergraduate. As the plot unfolds, Jemma will make mistakes, make and lose friends, and question her choice to take up physics at University. Her boyfriend Jamie is a bit of a loose card too. She's just like any teenaged girl. "We want to encourage girls to think about what science has brought to Jemma's life and show them that they can stick with science and that it can be a very tempting career choice," Holly said. Deliberately not targeted at the school science curriculum, Planet Jemma is intended to be inspirational rather than purely educational.

The project will comprise of 13-14 short weekly episodes, filmed at Bath University. Each video episode will be broadcast over the internet, though this should not preclude those who "will be accessing the site through computers that do not have the capacity to play video clips and show animated graphics," Holly said. "We need to use multiple approaches of video, stills, graphics, interactive questionnaires and possibly SMS."

The site will feature each character's own 'planet', like an online diary or 'blog', which will include information about them, and about what they have been doing in the last week. As the project progresses the site will grow, updating the story and encompassing new characters' planets as their lives 'orbit' around one another. Exploiting the craze for Big Brother, viewers will even be able to vote for which characters they particularly like or dislike.

The software also uses an e-mail composer tool to personalise e-mails based on readers' use of the site and any personal details they have submitted. By incorporating e-mail and potentially SMS, "we would like to send episode updates, have voting options and use it to make the audience feel that they are getting secret information," Holly told us. In fact, those who join in will feel as though "they are having an impact on the outcome of the drama and they are able to take part in the story".

Target market research has allowed the team to understand "what kind of entertainment girls look for on the internet and in more traditional formats such as TV, and also how they use SMS and what magazines they read." Nevertheless, with any such project there is a certain degree of risk.

The success of Online Caroline last year, however, is some placation. A 24-part drama charting Caroline's relationships with her sinister boyfriend and his colleagues, it opened the possibility for online interaction between human users and fictional characters. That project was developed by XPT, and the software underpinning it has been provided free for NESTA to power Planet Jemma.

Although Planet Jemma will be educational at least in part, Holly Moore is very aware that the content must not overwhelm the site's visitors. Each episode will feature a set science topic, and there will be stimulating and amusing experiment simulations to try out, but the science will also be embedded as metaphor within the plot. For instance, the theme of magnetism, repulsion and attraction will be played out through Jemma's relationships with other characters in the story. Intended for use at home rather than in the classroom, it will provide links to science sites such as www.sciencenet.org.uk so that if the drama and the site inspire users they can investigate the science more thoroughly for themselves.

Some questions remain. Firstly, will Planet Jemma help to stem the high numbers of girls who, despite early-years interest in science, decide not to pursue it post-16, especially in physics? And secondly, crucially, will Jemma be able to stick out her physics course? For that matter, what's going to happen between her and Jamie? Why is Danny looking at her strangely? And where has Abby disappeared to? You'll have to go to www.planetjemma.com in January to find out.