(CNN) -- In the age of digital audio, what does good old-fashioned radio still have to offer?



Teca Lima, the voice of RadarCultura, consults the Web site before talking into the mic.



Plenty, according to the creators of RadarCultura, a community-based Web site and a daily three-hour AM radio program broadcast from Brazil's São Paulo.



"Radio is 'now,'" says 22-year-old Brazilian André Avorio, who implemented the Web site.



"[Radio] is generally quick and live. This adds a special dynamic to the medium. Moreover, it is still one of the most popular means of mass communication in Brazil. Combining it with the power of the Internet can result in many new possibilities."



RadarCultura is an experimental project of the Padre Anchieta Foundation to promote public participation in audio-visual programming, eventually aiming to fuse its radio, television and Web programs into a single interactive, real-time platform.



Like many online music sites, RadarCultura is always looking for new music and emerging talents, but its primary focus is to preserve the memory of the Brazilian repertoire by resurfacing classic, forgotten or unknown songs.



The Padre Anchieta Foundation also happens to boast the biggest archive of Brazilian music in Brazil, including more than 15,000 songs dating from the 1920's to the present.



"Making it easy to search through the vast archive of songs was an important feature since version one of the Web site," says Avorio.



Producer Alceu Maynard observes two types of RadarCultura members: "There are people who listen to the show because they are fans of Brazilian music. There are others who like to produce the content on our site -- they collaborate actively with suggestions, playlists and all aspects of programming."



Meanwhile, RadarCultura team members Alceu, speaker Teca Lima and project manager Lia Rangel are busy podcasting interviews, moderating conversations, blogging, twittering and keeping the site relevant.



Old media gets new blood



True to its non-visual origin, RadarCultura's Web site is strictly text-based, with icons that link to votes and streaming audio. And true to its Web-based platform, the site has adopted, and adapted, all Net-native systems for its daily operations.



The site itself runs on the free Drupal content-management system, which allows content to rank and flow according to input and feedback from the site's online community.



Members who wish to contribute their own audio material to RadarCultura's archive must either podcast it themselves first, or else they may upload it to the U.S.-based Archive.org to clear it of online rights.



Given the quantity of music aired from the ever-expanding repertoire, copyright issues are the most common pretext to negotiation, most notably with ECAD, a privately owned civil society for the collection and distribution of copyright managed by 10 Brazilian music associations.



Online, however, RadarCultura distributes the entirety of its streaming content under a Creative Commons license.



The team has also been experimenting with the free CoveritLive software to enable live blogging, chatting and Twittering among audience, presenters and guests during its online coverage of radio and TV events, including the popular Roda Vivo TV show.



RadarCultura's first live event coverage in February 2008 was of Campus Party Brasil, a seven-day tech-fest that saw people camping out in tents with broadband cables while sharing ideas and technological innovations.



In April 2008, RadarCultura struck again with its live coverage of Virada Cultural, Brazil's largest cultural event, including art performances and exhibits in the streets of São Paulo during 24 continuous hours, attracting some 4 million people.



"I came up with the idea of inviting the audience to report directly from the streets using their mobile phones," says Avorio.



"A telephone system was installed, and the calls from the participants were automatically recorded. Our non-stop production team listened to every recording as they arrived and not only immediately published them online but geo-localized them on an interactive map of São Paulo.



"It was RadarCultura's first truly collaborative coverage, as the
what is the program about what is the community website Length of RadarCultura radio program? What does foundation boast? How long is radio program? What is the type of music played?
promote public participation in audio-visual programming, eventually aiming to fuse its radio, television and Web RadarCultura, three-hour the biggest archive of Brazilian music in Brazil, three-hour Brazilian
question: what is the program about, answer: promote public participation in audio-visual programming, eventually aiming to fuse its radio, television and Web | question: what is the community website, answer: RadarCultura, | question: Length of RadarCultura radio program?, answer: three-hour | question: What does foundation boast?, answer: the biggest archive of Brazilian music in Brazil, | question: How long is radio program?, answer: three-hour | question: What is the type of music played?, answer: Brazilian