Old-fashioned Pittsburgh city government -- where Luke Ravenstahl was the first mayor with a computer in his office -- will soon be under the microscope of a unique new social Web site designed to push progressive politics and government reform.

It's "policy together with pop culture," said one of the site's designers, Justin Kownacki, 30, of Highland Park.

The site, called www.reformpittsburghnow.com, is scheduled to launch today and is led by Mr. Kownacki and two other local leaders in social media. Two of the most popular sites in social media are MySpace and YouTube, where Web creators and readers interact in online communities.

It is also an official political action committee, funded with campaign money from Mr. Ravenstahl's one-time Democratic primary opponent, city Councilman William Peduto.

The site is hoped to redefine what "social" means on the Web, by getting online Pittsburghers to focus on civic issues and band together to force local government reforms.

"We can form a community-based agenda to reform city government. That's what really makes it different," Mr. Peduto said of the site.

The RPN site is being run by John Carman of Avenue Design Studios in Bloomfield; Justine Ezarik, a Web designer and "lifecaster" who broadcasts around-the-clock on the Internet; and Mr. Kownacki, creator of "Something To Be Desired," a Web soap opera.

Ms. Ezarik has become an international Web star -- a YouTube video she posted on her 300-page iPhone bill made Tuesday's editions of USA Today. She is set to appear in videos posted every few weeks on the new site, describing government policy issues, interviewing political activists and making tours of the city, all while asking for input -- and action -- from readers.

Mr. Kownacki, who has been producing Web video for four years, said "a lot of folks just do it for their own personal gain, or to have their own voices heard by the masses. What you don't see a lot of is actual pro-active video, or social media in general that tries to rally people to a cause, get them to actually effect change."

The site will post blog entries from Mr. Peduto and others, post government documents, and schedule networking events and rallies. The hope is to gather an army of people interested in reforms -- to public transit, struggling neighborhoods, merging city and county government -- and get them to lobby for change.

Mr. Peduto is paying $25,000 from his campaign coffers to pay for the site. Fund raising is planned for next year to make it self-sufficient.

"The people that I incorporated into it have nothing to do with politics," he said. "They're creating a social media forum in order to go after ideas from people who basically haven't been asked before. The folks who don't read the newspaper, don't subscribe to magazines and don't watch the 6 o'clock news. They get all of their information -- all of it -- from the Internet."