HARRISBURG -- The Rendell administration doesn't want Pennsylvanians to get panicked by tonight's broadcast of a fictional, made-for-TV movie about the dangers of bird flu.

But state officials do want people to know about a new Web site containing "accurate, timely and reliable" information about a tough new strain of avian flu and the potential dangers it might cause if it ever hits here or elsewhere in America.

The Web site, run by the Department of Health, is www.pandemicflu.state.pa.us.

The site has been in the works for weeks and state health officials had planned to unveil it later this month. But they moved up the date because of an ABC-TV movie called "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America," to be shown at 8 p.m. today during sweeps month.

Dr. Calvin Johnson, state health secretary, said the movie "may have the potential to cause confusion among viewers."

He added, "It is important for viewers to accept this movie for what it is -- entertainment. It is not a documentary."

He appeared at a news conference yesterday with state Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff and Art Stephens, Gov. Ed Rendell's deputy chief of staff.

None of them had seen the film, but they urged anyone who views it tonight not to accept everything said or done in the film as factual and not to panic.

"It is our hope that this movie will draw people to more reliable sources for information, such as the department's phone line, 1-877-PA-HEALTH, or the Web site we've launched today," Dr. Johnson said.

The phone line will be specially staffed from 5 p.m. until midnight today and is mainly for people who don't have access to the Internet but do have questions about avian flu.

Mr. Rendell wasn't at the news conference, but issued a statement saying the new Web site will give Pennsylvanians "access to a state-of-the-art, informative tool to get quick, accurate answers about flu pandemics."

One of the most serious flu outbreaks in U.S. history was in 1918, when thousands of people died.

Mr. Stephens said Pennsylvania hasn't faced an influenza pandemic since the Hong Kong flu of 1967-68.

"At this point, there is no immediate threat of one," he said.

Officials stressed there have been no cases reported in North America of the new, dangerous strain of avian flu, called the H5N1 virus.

But, Mr. Stephens said, the outbreak of this new strain of avian flu in Asia "has reminded the world of the need to be prepared in case a pandemic strikes at home. That's what we're doing in Pennsylvania."

In the past 10 years, there have been 206 cases worldwide of H5N1 avian flu in humans. The strain was transmitted to humans from birds, chickens or other poultry in Asia, the Mideast and now Europe.

Of those 206 cases, 113 victims have died, said Paul Knepley, a veterinarian and director of the state's Bureau of Animal Health, so the situation related to avian flu needs to be taken seriously.

He noted that the number of deaths from avian flu is far less than the 36,000 deaths of Americans each year from seasonal influenza.

Avian flu is transmitted to humans who are in close contact with infected birds or poultry, though the exact method of transmission is still being studied. Thousands of farmers and other people in Asia and the Middle East have been in contact with chickens or birds since 1996, Mr. Knepley said, but there have so far been only 206 cases of avian flu reported in humans.

A person who eats properly cooked chicken can't get the H5N1 strain of bird flu, officials said.

The department's Web site contains a world map showing how the avian flu strain has migrated westward from Asia in recent years.

State officials will soon conduct six public meetings around the state to tell residents about their plans to handle a flu pandemic, should one occur.

The southwestern Pennsylvania meeting is set for May 19 at the ExpoMart in Monroeville. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and the meeting will go from 9 a.m. to noon. There also will be a meeting May 18, also from 9 a.m. to noon, at Gemmell Hall at Clarion University of Pennsylvania in Clarion.