Virgin Mobile USA is letting music fans text to vote for one out of a group of five bands vying for a slot in the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival lineup.

This initiative is part of Virgin Mobile USA's "Book the Band" competition, which asks fans to vote via text message with their favorite band's short code name to 73976. The five bands competing for the last spot are Automatic Loveletter, Hollywood Undead, the Parlor Mob, the Virgins and We Are Scientists.

"This is a national, viral way to drum up excitement around our festival and the Virgin Mobile brand," said Ron Faris, director of brand development and partnerships at Virgin Mobile USA, Warren, NJ.

"By letting fans pick the band they'd like to open the second day of the festival, Book the Band allows music fans to fuel their addiction to music discovery," he said. "We hope to introduce the Virgin Mobile brand to them in the process, while also offering special promotions that allow voters to get to the festival to meet their winning band."

The festival's lineup includes bands such as Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, Wilco, Moby, Iggy & the Stooges and Bob Dylan.

The festival will take place Aug. 9-10 in Baltimore.

Band content from each of the five contenders selected by Virgin Mobile USA and festival producer I.M.P. went live on http://www.virginmobilefestival.com and http://www.myspace.com/virginmobilefestival.

Voting will run through July 21. The winning band, based on audience voting, will be announced July 24 and then play a set Aug. 10, the second day of Virgin Mobile festival.

"Our target demographic is the 18-34 range," said Corinne Nosal, manager of corporate communications for Virgin Mobile USA. "We're working with Kyocera Wireless and MySpace to promote this campaign."

Kyocera Wireless is sponsoring the Book the Band promotion for the second year and has sponsored the festival for three consecutive years. Other sponsors include Sony Playstation, Red Bull, Major League Baseball and Bud Light.

Bands in the lineup also include Lupe Fiasco, Chromeo, KT Tunstall, Bloc Party, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Andrew Bird, Black Rebel Motorcyle Club, the Black Keys, Lil' Wayne, Cat Power, Chuck Berry & the Silver Beats, the Offspring, the Go! Team, Shudder to Think, Rabbit in the Moon, She & Him and Gogol Bordello.

"We're looking to get involved with some up-and-coming bands out there and give them the opportunity to be showcased in the largest festival on the East Coast," Ms. Nosal said. "We want to provide the fans with the opportunity to hear these break-out bands."