To forestall - or at least retain some control over - the expected controversy over the upcoming film The Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown's book, Sony Pictures is expected to launch a website to serve as a platform for some of the fiercest critics of the book, reports the New York Times. The site, thedavincichallenge.com, will publish essays by some 45 Christian writers and scholars and leaders of evangelical organizations, who will dispute the book's theological and historical claims.

The site was developed by Sony with guidance from Grace Hill Media, which helps studios market movies to religious audiences. Among the writers are Gordon Robertson, son of televangelist Pat Robertson; Prof. Darrell L. Bock, author of Breaking the Da Vinci Code; and Richard J. Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena.

Sony executives have expressed concern that they might ruffle the feathers of those with religious sensitivities; the studio has been trying to attract a Christian niche audience, with films like Left Behind: World at War, an evangelical thriller.