Confirmed: Laguna Beach Moving to Newport

After months of speculation, MTV's executive vice president of series development and programming Tony DiSanto has confirmed that MTV is relocating its hit reality show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County to the even wealthier coastal community Newport Beach, where the FOX hit series The O.C. was set.

The new show, titled Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County, will debut on August 15 on MTV, just two days after the launch of The Hills season 3, which is based around Laguna series 1 & 2 cast member Lauren "LC" Conrad. One of the new characters, Chrissy, is a senior described as "as smart as she is beautiful", and another, a junior named Clay with a "humble attitude [which] belies his looks".

DiSanto said, "It has been three years since the Stephen, Lauren and Kristin love triangle drew viewers to the real-life drama of Laguna Beach. Now we are moving up the coast to a new town with new faces and a new high school, but with the same drama of dealing with relationships, cliques, family and friends."

Like Laguna, Newport Harbor will focus on the day-to-day lives of its cast and the cameras will follow them to all-new clubs, restaurants, beaches etc. As DiSanto explains, "We'd seen all the locations in Laguna, all the hangouts...Newport offers something new and different. The boating, the coastline, the homes. You have a different flavor when you watch the show."

Alongside the debut of the new season, MTV is launching the online Virtual Newport Harbor - a place where fans can interact, hangout, party and shop with the virtual cast.

In other MTV news, Conrad, who was Laguna Beach's first narrator, returns as star of the third season of spinoff series The Hills on August 13.