NEW YORK (AP) — CBS wants television viewers to be on a first-name basis with the 16 finalists in its summer adventure series, "Survivor."

But that's it.

On the day it flew the contestants to a deserted island where they will compete in a series of endurance tests, CBS illustrated how it is treading a fine line between publicity and potentially embarrassing scrutiny.

CBS released pictures, occupations and first names of contestants, but no last names. The network said the partial identification had nothing to do with the ruckus caused by the media's search into the background of Fox's multimillionaire groom, Rick Rockwell.

Instead, the network pleaded for the media to restrain itself from trying to contact participants and their families because it wants to keep secret who wins the show's $1 million prize.

"We hope the press will treat this as an entertainment product," said CBS spokesman Chris Ender on Monday. "Movie critics didn't reveal the plot of `The Sixth Sense,' which has a secret ending. We hope they have the same sensitivity here."

"Survivor" doesn't have actors, though. It's part of the trend of reality television that some believe hit its nadir when Rockwell wed a stranger, Darva Conger, on Fox's "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire" last month. Conger has since filed for an annulment.

The 16 "Survivor" participants, culled from among 6,000 applications, compete in endurance contests on an island in the South China Sea. One by one, through 13 one-hour weekly episodes that will air this summer, the contingent is whittled down to two people. The losing contestants then choose the winner.

In a Swedish version of the game three years ago, a losing contestant committed suicide a month after returning home. The Swedish television network denied any responsibility, but the man's widow blamed the show after her husband came back "deeply depressed and agonized."

Each of CBS' contestants went through six hours of psychological testing to determine their fitness, including a one-hour meetings with mental health professionals, Ender said.

Fox's initial elation with the high ratings for "Multimillionaire" faded quickly when questions about Rockwell's background surfaced, including a 1991 restraining order issued against him after an ex-fiancee said he had threatened her.

CBS's refusal to release the full names of "Survivor" contestants stops, or at least slows, any outsiders from making checks. The network suspects that by releasing pictures and hometowns of contestants, their identities will eventually surface, anyway.

"Other people have tried other methods to keep us from finding out information, but it won't work," said Daniel Green, co-editor of The Smoking Gun, an online news service that first revealed the Rockwell restraining order.

CBS also said it conducted its own criminal and civil background checks of the participants just to be sure some embarrassing history doesn't come to light.

"Certainly everything that happened with the Rockwell situation took our awareness level to new heights," Ender said.

The 16 contestants range in age from a 22-year-old college student from New Hampshire to a 72-year-old retired Navy SEAL from Virginia Beach. They include a lawyer, neurologist, truck driver, traveling salesman and river guide.

CBS has a similar, perhaps even more controversial reality series on tap for this summer. Called "Big Brother," it features a group of strangers who agree to live in a house fully equipped with cameras and microphones for three months.

Copyright© 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.