Bringing the YouTube phenomenon to the next level, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook and Ziddio.com, a subsidiary of Comcast Interactive Media, have partnered on a new user-generated television series called the "Facebook Diaries."

The terms of the deal combine Facebook's expansive social networking territory and supporting technology with Ziddio's multiplatform user-generated video site to create and share video content for both websites and Comcast's On Demand service.

"Through our partnership with Comcast, we are making it even easier for the Facebook community to share video content in a trusted online environment and giving them the opportunity to tell their stories on TV," Facebook COO Van Natta says.

The two companies will inaugurate their partnership in March with a nationwide contest in search of short video submissions documenting user life experiences. Contest participants will be encouraged to upload, share and rate video submissions that will eventually be chosen to appear on Facebook and Ziddio.com.

Those video selections also will be handpicked by Oscar-nominated R.J. Cutler, known for his work on television shows "American High" and "30 Days," and will be featured in 10 half-hour television episodes of the "Facebook Diaries."

"Everyone has a story to tell and 'Facebook Diaries' is a really new and exciting way for people to share their experiences," Cutler says. "The concept is a fresh spin on entertainment and programming, and I think it's truly groundbreaking. Facebook and Comcast are terrific partners for this and I can't wait to get started."

Facebook currently boasts 16 million registered users in more than 47,000 geo-targeted locations. ComScore's MediaMetrix has ranked Facebook as one of the most trafficked sites in the United States.