The Aimster 'IT' Girl

NEW YORK – She's the new IT girl — "IT" as in "information technology."

Wednesday she attended a showing of 42nd Street in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, to which she wore a "bustier kind of thing" lent to her by designer, Mary McFadden.

On Monday, she ran into "It guy" Heath Ledger at the premiere of his new movie, A Knight's Tale. Just the other day she chatted with Uma Thurman, Anjelica Huston and Quentin Tarantino. And last week, she just happened to grab supper with Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, the New York Post's Page Six has dutifully recorded her appearances at Gotham's hottest nightspots.

So who is this latest glamour girl? Christy Turlington? Cindy Crawford? Naomi Campbell?

No, it's Aimee Deep, the computer-geek girl-next-door from Cohoes, N.Y., who in the 38 days since she turned 16 has become the Web's version of the famous Farrah Fawcett pinup.

"It's been so awesome! I love it!" Aimee said in an enthusiastic voice, which sounded even younger than 16. "I don't have time to catch my breath, but when you love something like this you don't want to catch your breath."

As soon as she she hit 16, Aimee became the spokesperson and public face of Aimster, her father's Internet-based file-sharing company that many Web surfers use as an alternative to Napster. The Aimster Web site is adorned with photographs of Aimee in a slinky black dress and white string bikini that have made her popular with Web surfers.

"Isn't it awesome?" Aimee said. "I love the dress! I love all of it!"

Her father, Johnny Deep, 43, said he was all for it — if that's what she wanted to do. After all, he said, he and Aimee's mother decided to let the straight-A student choose what she wanted to do as soon as she had her Sweet Sixteen.

"Her mother wanted to protect her and keep her private," Deep said. "We generally came to an agreement she was old enough now to pursue the career that she wanted. I have to say I think she's going to be good at this."

And she pursued that career with gusto. Hiring herself a publicity agent, Aimee's last month has been a whirlwind of celebrity encounters, photo shoots, premieres, and media appearances. She keeps up with her schoolwork with tutors on Sundays and spends her free time answering fan e-mail.

"I come into the city, I get my hair done, get a manicure and pedicure, and then I go out and party," she said. "Yep, it's a pretty cool job."

But, she and her father insist, Aimee isn't just a pretty face. When she was only 13, her concerns about Internet privacy inspired her dad to create Aimster. And Aimee, who's been using a keyboard since she was 5, occasionally helps code.

"She's a computer geek," Deep said.

She also seems a little too good to be true, according to skeptics who have posted accusations of an Aimster conspiracy on her fan site. They theorize the Aimee you see on the Web site is actually a hired model, not Johnny Deep's daughter. They also note previously posted pictures of the girl were labeled "Madeleine."

"That's why I have to get myself out there," she said. "To let people know I'm real."

Madeleine, she said, is her real name. But the name she goes by is Aimee, a nickname her father gave her long ago because "It means 'love' in French," she said.