Paris Hilton is one hot babe on the internet, thanks to the buzz over a home-vid sex romp filmed two years ago and now zipping around the web.
  But will all that buzz work in Fox's favor to build audience for its new reality show starring the celeb heiress, “The Simple Life,” which debuts tonight?
 Don't bet the farm on it, advise media buyers.
  Paris sex tape mania, which shot her to the top of search sites Lycos and Google, should draw the curious for the first several airings, but after that buyers suspect it will sink like a rock in the old mill pond.
   Call it the Anna Nicole syndrome. We all remember Anna Nicole Smith, if vaguely.
  Smith’s E! show debuted two years ago to a huge public bow but then lost half its audience as viewers realized that there wasn't much to watch beyond an overweight Anna Nicole strut and primp.
  There simply was much there there.
  The question is whether there is even as much there with Hilton.
  Hilton may have what it takes to attract web voyeurs to a sex romp, but there's little reason to believe that she can sustain viewer interest in a reality show built around the notion of a celebrity living on an Arkansas farm among critters and lacking the amenities of Hollywood life.
   “Controversy is always good, and I think also the fact that it’s Paris Hilton might do well with the elusive male 18-34 viewer. That’s also one of Fox’s core viewers, so it might help it,” says Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director at Horizon.
   “However, television can only go so far as an ad-supported media. Certainly internet videos can go a lot further.”
  For sure, Fox is desperate for a hit coming off of a dismal November sweeps, in which it dipped 14 percent from last year’s adults 18-49 average. It needs to make up for fall duds “The Next Joe Millionaire” and “Skin,” which dragged down Monday and Tuesday nights.
  Adgate says an adult 18-49 rating of 5.0 or above for “The Simple Life,” would be a coup for Fox. 
  But with Fox having produced three of this season's biggest disasters (“The Next Joe Millionaire,” “Skin” and “Luis”) there’s the very real possibility that much of the target audience isn’t even that aware of the show.
  Hilton and “Simple Life” co-star Nicole Richie certainly fit the mold for reality television stars: The Hilton Hotels heiress and daughter of songster Lionel Richie are famous for nothing more than being themselves.
  But if audiences can warm to them outside the Page Six gossip arena is questionable. The commercials show them swearing as they pluck chickens, milk cows and serve fast food.
   The one-note gags, though, grow tiresome after a half-hour. And in a world where ditzy Jessica Simpson needs no setup to inspire eye rolls on her high-rated MTV show “Newlyweds,” “Life” seems a tad too gimmicky.
  “Whether this can be ‘American Idol’ or ‘Joe Millionaire,’ the first one, or even ‘Boot Camp’ or 'Temptation Island,' whether this will resonate with viewers for long-term success and help Fox out of the ratings doldrums it had during the November sweeps, that’s another matter,” Adgate says. 
  “I think it has to be good to carry it off. It will bring the curious to the show because of the publicity surrounding it, but whether it’s compelling enough to keep watching, we’ll have to see some comedic effects taking place.”