We’ve known that MySpace has been planning a new kind of presidential forum, and today it's released new details.

It will be partnering with MTV to produce a series of “one-on-one dialogues” between the candidates and young voters, utilizing instant messaging, email, and text messaging to initiate real-time, two-way interactions.

Over the next few months, and until the end of the year, almost every candidate will appear at college campuses across the country to participate in the the MySpace and MTV-sponsored forums. (Jeff Berman, Senior Vice President for Communications & Public Affairs at MySpace, prefers to call them “conversations” or "dialogues," citing the more intimate back-and-forth possibilities engendered by the technology.) MTV will broadcast these conversations live, and they will also be simulcast on MTV.com and at MySpaceTV. Viewers will then have the chance to IM, email, or text questions to the candidates, participating in a true dialogue with them.

The first dialogue will be with John Edwards in New Hampshire on September 27.

“It will be like having the candidate in an Iowa or New Hampshire living room,” Berman said. “There will be a direct conversation between candidates and voters, a more authentic conversation.”

Meanwhile, MySpace will introduce a real-time polling tool for viewers to gauge the conversations, which will visualize the data as the dialogue takes place. More details about the tool will emerge soon.

All of the footage will be available on demand for people to mashup as they like. Although Berman wasn’t forthcoming with details about commercial licensing, he made it clear that web users will be able to freely use the material for their own creative work.

For the Dems, in addition to Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson will participate. For the GOP, Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney will come.

There are some glaring omissions here. What about Mike Huckabee, who placed second in the Ames, Iowa straw poll? Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, and Joe Biden? Remember John MccCain? If Fred Thompson officially enters the race, will he be included? How about Tom “blow up their holy places” Tancredo? Were these candidates asked to participate?

In any case, like the CNN/YouTube debate, MySpace/MTV's experiment bears watching. By utilizing several kinds of technology to ensure a two-way conversation, and making sure footage of the debates will be free to reuse and remix, this new "conversation" or "dialogue" format is hoping to take fuller advantage of the way the web actually works. The details sound good; we'll see how it goes on September 27th.