College students may get a boost in their search for internships thanks to an expanded Web site being unveiled today by the Regional Internship Center.

"It will be incredible," said Regina Anderson, director of the center, who is bullish on the prospects for internship applicants.

The Regional Internship Center, which has had an internship clearinghouse on the Web since 2003, is part of the Coro Center for Civic Leadership and has received support from the Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Alcoa Foundation and the Benedum Foundation.

Ms. Anderson said the center's Web site currently lists about 1,500 internship openings with about 800 employers, some of them for summer and others for later. More than 80 percent have businesses with fewer than 20 people.

She said about 55 percent of the openings are paid and the others involve a stipend, academic credit or no pay. She said that last year, a higher percentage of the available internships -- 60 percent -- were paid.

More than 7,000 internship seekers registered on the site. Registration is not limited to current students.

The center estimates that it has helped to fill more than 4,000 internships since inception, including 419 since January this year.

The new Web site, aimed at enhancing the information available to employers and seekers, will be unveiled tonight at Carnegie Mellon University at an event that will encourage more employers to sign up.

Registration is free for those seeking internships. It's free for businesses for now, but a fee for each of three periods of the year -- spring, summer and fall -- will be charged beginning in December. The fee will be up to $50 per trimester, depending on the type of business.

Ms. Anderson doesn't think it's too late for students who are still looking for summer internships. "If a student contacts us and says, 'I haven't found anything yet,' we work individually with that student," she said. "So far, we've been pretty successful at matching."

She said there are opportunities in engineering, marketing, communications and accounting, among others.

The center also works directly with 70 area colleges and universities. She said a couple of weeks ago, the center began a challenge with Chatham University students, with 27 students agreeing to update their profiles and get help from the center to find summer internships. She said a couple have been offered internships, and some have had interviews.

Cory Trinkle, 20, of Coraopolis, a January graduate of Pittsburgh Technical Institute, was having trouble finding a job in his field of graphic arts, so he decided to look for an internship to keep his skills up-to-date.

One listing connected him to the center, which invited him to join the center and attend a networking session at which employers meet internship candidates. He's now doing an unpaid internship at Advertisers Associates in the Strip District.

He said the internship is giving him the chance to do work people can see and to network with others in the field. "This experience seems to be helping a lot," he said.

Tom Baker, vice president of programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh, said he's used the center four times with four different organizations to find interns.

Mr. Baker, whose wife, Erin, was a co-director of the center, said, "All four interns have been fantastic."

Those interested in internships for this summer should still use the old Web site, www.ric-swpa.org.

Those interested in internships for fall or later should go to the new site, www.theregionalinternshipcenter.org.