Theaters are so last year. On Tuesday, filmmaker Michael Moore made his most recent documentary available for free on the Internet, hoping to encourage young people to take part in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, due to take place in November.

“Slacker Uprising,” a 97-minute film which portrays Michael Moore’s barnstorming country tour just before the 2004 presidential election, was released as a downloadable free product on the Internet instead of hitting big screens.

The creator of the Palme d’Or-winning anti-Iraq war movie hit “Fahrenheit 9/11,” explained in a statement that his actions were “entirely as a gift to my fans.”

Michael Moore is a self-described liberal who has condemned globalization, large corporations, gun possession, the Iraq war, U.S. President George W. Bush and the American health care system in his most popular works.

“The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters at the polls in November,” he said in the statement.

In spite of the fact that “Slacker Uprising” breathes life into the director’s attempts to persuade young people to vote, notwithstanding whose side they are on, Michael Moore said that the documentary was also a “tribute to the young voters who are going to save this country from four more years of Republican rule,” Reuters reported.

Democrat candidate Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain find themselves in a close competition for the White House in the November 4 election, in keeping with opinion polls.

Moore introduced the online release of his documentary by chatting with his fans for an hour.

“Slacker Uprising” is also available as a discounted DVD for those who cannot download the online version.