• May 3, 2007

Give teen retailer American Eagle Outfitters extra points for marketing originality: The chain plans on launching a 12-episode original series called "It's a Mall World."

Directed by TV star Milo Ventimiglia ("Heroes"), the company says it will tease viewers of MTV's "The Real World: Sydney" with three-minute "minisodes."

And the complete five-minute episodes will air exclusively on AE.com Thursday nights at 8 p.m., beginning Aug. 2.

The show is about two record store employees, a greeter at the American Eagle store across the way described as "an object of perfection," a psycho lingerie salesgirl, and a bad-boy type who works at the juice bar.

--Sarah Mahoney