Actress Niu Mengmeng(L1), director Xiaojiang(L2), actor Wilson Chen(R2) and Zhang Bo(R1) attend a press conference of "PK.COM.CN" on March 12, 2008. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

"PK.COM.CN," China's first movie to follow a script chosen by an online poll, is set to open in Chinese theaters on March 14.

Based a tumultuous college lifestyle, the screenplay was adapted from a popular online novel written by a sophomore student, titled "Who says a youngster can't be wrong?" The story was selected by millions of netizens in a poll organized by leading Web portal sina.com.

Directed by Xiaojiang, the movie features a youthful cast that includes Hong Kong star Jaycee Chan, Taiwan actor Wilson Chen, and rising mainland stars Niu Mengmeng and Zhang Bo.

The story focuses on a boy's struggle between his dreams and reality. Balanced by his womanly father and tough mother, Zhang Wenli (played by Jaycee Chan) was always a good student. During his studies at medical school, his faithful friend Ji Yinchuan (played by Wilson Chen) always encouraged him when he began to feel depressed about life. After college, Zhang Wenli found work as a surgeon and hadn't seen his pal since graduation. At an alumni reunion, Zhang Wenli ran into Ji Yinchuan's ex-girlfriend, who told him some astonishing news: Ji was dead.

The film won wide acclaim at its premiere at the 3rd Hollywood China Film Festival in Canada last year. During its subsequent preview in Chinese universities, many students interpreted it as a Chinese edition of the popular American film "Fight Club," starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt.

As the movie progresses, viewers discover that Ji Yinchuan is an imaginary person created by Zhang Wenli, who has multiple personality disorder. Half of Zhang's personality is wild and the other is introverted. According to Wilson Chen, who spoke at a press conference on Thursday, the two types of characters in "PK.COM.CN" gradually reach a balance. This contrasts with "Fight Club," in which the two male leads remain totally opposite, one weak and another strong.

Wilson sounded off on his opinions about the word "PK" and his role in the film.

"I play the part of Jaycee, and also his imaginary image whom he wants to become. Jaycee actually PKs himself in the film. I think when you try your best to compete for something, what you really want is to testify your ability rather than beat your component. So, I think the word "PK" is a contradiction about yourself."

"PK" originally meant "player killing" in a game, but it became a widespread slang word among Chinese youth after it cropped up in the "Super Girl" singing contest several years ago. According to director Xiaojiang, the eye-catching title "PK.COM.CN" looks like a fresh domain name, and is the first English-titled Chinese film. She explains her thoughts about the term "PK."

"It is actually that you PK with yourself instead of PKing with others. Everyone has two sides in his own character, active and passive. PK is something of a person's nature, so this title tells about a person's fight with himself."

Since the Internet era has already arrived, Xiaojiang said she wanted to include "com.cn" to remind audiences where the film originated.