Fallon to hone late-night skills online

Jimmy Fallon, the TV host who will replace Conan O'Brien on NBC's  Late Night next year, will be honing his late-night host skills first on the internet by appearing in short webisodes online.

Fallon, a former cast member of Saturday Night Live, will replace O'Brien in March or April next year, according to a statement issued Monday by NBC.

In June, O'Brien is going to be replacing Jay Leno, the current king of late night broadcasting, on the Tonight Show. Leno's last show will be Friday, May 29, 2009.

The Brooklyn, N.Y. -born Fallon, currently appearing at Toronto's Just for Laughs festival, is an impressionist and sketch artist who impressed SNL viewers.

But NBC producer Lorne Michaels said he wants him to be seasoned online before he goes on the air.

Fallon will appear online in five-to-10 minute webisodes for several months, Michaels told reporters on the TV Critics Tour on Sunday.

Michaels is the same producer who hired O'Brien to fill in for David Letterman, and backed him up, despite savage reviews.

O'Brien is now a late night star himself, vying for prominence with other late-night host, Craig Ferguson.

Leno wants to finish his association with NBC and has said he will be a free agent when his contract expires, though NBC is trying to find a vehicle for him to remain on late-night TV.