The folks who brought you A Day in the Life of America, 24 Hours in Cyberspace and One Digital Day are at it again. This time the target is the American home.

All next week, 100 of the world's top photojournalists and millions of amateur shutterbugs will fan out around the United States to shoot digital photos of one of the most important places in their lives: their homes. Rick Smolan and company will be gathering what's expected to be millions of images during the course of the week. The result may be the most extensive record of American home life ever created in the 21st century.



Millions of Americans are being invited to contribute their images each day throughout the week. Participants will receive daily e-mails with assignment instructions and can also take general photos of what makes their home special. A Web site has been created to sign up for the project and upload images.

An international team of leading magazine and newspaper photo editors will edit all of the images. The best shots will be woven together with essays from leading writers for a coffee table book, a Web site, a TV show, and an exhibit.

A unique element of America at Home is that it encourages participation by cell phone camera users.

America at Home will be published by Running Press in March 2008 and will offer the public the ability to personalize their books with customized covers. The custom cover feature was largely responsible for the success of Smolan's last project, America 24/7, when more than 21 percent of all book buyers customized their copies. This was the first time in publishing history that a New York Times best seller was mass customized by its readers.