• by David Goetzl , July 11, 2008

Looking to build anticipation for its fall return after a writers'-strike imposed a shortened season, NBC.com is launching a "Heroes" Web series on Monday. The network has such high enough hopes for the offering that the network announced the debut would be at precisely 3 p.m. EST.

"Going Postal," the three-episode series on the network Web site, will include integrated sponsorships from Nissan and Sprint. Sprint and Nissan products will be inserted directly into the "Heroes" content.

"Fans of "Heroes" are going to find a satisfying installment that sets them up perfectly for the third season," said NBC's Vivi Zigler. NBC said the first "Heroes" Webisode will unveil a new character with special powers; his destiny will unfold over several episodes.

NBC launched a Web series for "The Office" on Thursday (also at 3 p.m. EST), the second for the comedy, with Comcast, Sony Electronics and Priceline as sponsors.

For "The Office" Webisodes, in keeping with the show producers' preference for avoiding product placement, there will be no integrations, but the sponsors will be running pre-roll spots. "The Office" was affected by the writers' strike, but was able to air new episodes as the season wound down.