“The Matrix Reloaded” is this summer’s most cerebral blockbuster so far (although “Charlie’s Angels 2” is coming up), so it isn’t surprising that its Web site also pushes some boundaries.

Originally launched in 1999 to promote the release of the original Matrix film, www.whatisthematrix.com has been continuously updated throughout the last four years with both standard and innovative content.

One of the original standouts are the online comics, written and drawn by many well-known industry talents, which explore the back story of the Matrix universe.

With the “Reloaded” and “Revolutions” sequels being released this year, a new addition is expanding the Matrix mythos: “The Animatrix.”

“The Animatrix” is a series of nine animated shorts created by noted Japanese animation directors. And at a cost of a $500,000 each, these short films are of far higher quality than what you might find at iFilm or AtomFilms.com.

They are not essential to understanding the movies, but do provide more details on characters, vehicles and locations you only glimpse in the theatrical films.

While all nine episodes are available on DVD, four are now available to download … for free.

Yes, it’s the dreaded “F” word. (Well, the other dreaded “F” word).

You don’t even have to register, provide personal information or sign up for newsletters. You can simply download the short films straight from www.intothematrix.com.

A word of caution, though. Both “The Matrix” and its sequel, “Reloaded,” are R-rated movies, and the Animatrix shorts contain scenes of a graphic nature which are not suitable for all ages. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how many parents take this seriously anymore, since I saw a dozen kids with their parents at a showing of “Reloaded” I went to.

The other word of caution is in regard to Internet connection speed. These films are between seven and 10 minutes long, so their file size ranges from 30-130 megabytes, depending on whether you choose a small, medium or large image size.

Even using a 56K modem at top speed, it will take more than an hour to download the smallest file. A broadband connection will shorten that download time by a factor of 10 to 20.

The movies are in QuickTime format, so you’ll need to have QuickTime installed on your computer. It’s free, it’s available for both Macintosh and Windows, and many other sites use it for streaming video, so it’s a good idea to have this anyway. The latest version, 6.2, can be obtained from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download.

Most promotional movie Web sites are destroyed once the film finishes its video-store sales life cycle, so while whatisthematrix.com has been growing for the last few years, don’t be disappointed if it’s not around in a couple more.

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Eddie Hargreaves was the webmaster of EastOregonian.com and EONow.com and now works for SacObserver.com. He can be reached at meged@earthlink.net.