Laura Hobeika walked into an Internet cafe while vacationing in Ireland earlier this month. Her older sister wanted to check a few details about her Aug. 19 wedding, the same date Hobeika moves into her dorm at the University of Virginia.

Hobeika, a Blacksburg High School graduate, knew roommate assignments were released July 14. She did not remember the Web site where she could view her assignment, but she checked her college e-mail to see if she had received notification there.

Although there was no message from the UVa housing department, there was one from Facebook, the online directory that connects high school and college students through social networks.

She logged onto Facebook, and sure enough, she had a new friend request.

"I was 80 percent sure she was my roommate," Hobeika said. "I was very excited."

When she returned home and logged onto the UVa Housing Web site, Hobeika found out that the girl who had "friended" her on Facebook was indeed her soon-to-be college roommate from Vienna.

Like Hobeika, many rising college freshmen here and across the country this month are receiving their roommate assignments. And many are turning to Facebook for early introductions -- or at least a sneak peek.

William Hwang, who will live in a suite with three other students at Yale University, contacted each of his three suitemates through Facebook after receiving a list of their names from the school.

"They're each from a different state, and I'm really looking forward to meeting people from different states because I really haven't had that opportunity in Virginia," said Hwang, who graduated from Radford High School.

His suitemates are from New Jersey, Michigan and California.

While Hwang said he gets along pretty well with others, he came across one detail that may be problematic.

"I think one of them parties a lot," he said.

Radford High School graduate Thomas Dickens will be attending the College of William and Mary this fall.

He did not know how or when to find out about his roommate. But apparently his roommate, who is from the Richmond area, found him. Again, through Facebook.

His new roommate's interest in hip-hop was one of the first things that got his attention, Dickens said.

"Music is a big part of my life," he said.

So far, discussion of political views is the only issue where they might conflict, but Dickens sees the views more as an "opportunity to discuss different things."

On the other side, college officials are cautioning against using sites such as Google or Facebook to get to know roommates.

"We are actually going to tell them they need to contact their roommate before they use Facebook," said Cathy Goldsborough, assistant director of housing at James Madison University.

Housing assignments are made available online for JMU students on Tuesday. This week, the Office of Residence Life will send out an e-mail alerting both returning and first-year students about the use of Facebook and MySpace, Goldsborough said.

"You know the old saying: 'You can't judge a book by its cover.' Well, the same goes for roommates. Don't judge a roommate by the Facebook profile!" reads an excerpt from the e-mail to be distributed. In the e-mail, Associate Director of Residence Life Hugh Brown urges students to establish contact with their roommates first by telephone. He also outlines safety concerns with such Web sites.

Hobeika's mother, an English instructor at Blacksburg High, said the Internet has opened up vast horizons for students from the perspectives of both a teacher and parent.

"Having had two older children, this is just a new way of exploring the possibilities," Jane Hobeika said. "I think it's positive unless they take at face value all the information ... and as long as they don't become preoccupied that they spend hours and hours."

While Facebook is fun and useful in finding out about friends' groups, clubs and other activities, using Facebook to jump to conclusions about a particular person is "silly and judgmental," Laura Hobeika said.

"I don't really think you can build a solid friendship over the Internet," Hobeika said. "I'm still not a proponent of that."