SAN JOSE, Calif. – After getting a taste of the radio business in college, software designer Craig Patchett never lost his interest in broadcasting. But without a job in radio, it seemed likely to remain one of those unfulfilled passions – until something called “podcasting” came along.

Now, Mr. Patchett’s creating shows and sending them out to the masses every day – not over the airwaves to radios but over the Internet, from his personal computer in Carlsbad, Calif.

His listeners download his shows to their iPods and other digital music players.

Mr. Patchett, 43, is among a growing number of people getting into podcasting, which is quickly becoming another of the Internet’s equalizing technologies.

Less than a year old, podcasting enables anyone with a PC to become a broadcaster. It has the potential to do to the radio business what Web logs have done to print journalism. By bringing the cost of broadcasting to nearly nothing, it’s enabling more voices and messages to be heard than ever before.

“It was just one of those things where you read about a technology and it clicks in your head: This is perfect and something I want to get involved with,” said Mr. Patchett, whose podcasts focus on Christian and family programming.

For listeners, podcasting offers a diverse menu of programs, which can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime. Unlike traditional radio, shows can be easily paused, rewound or fast-forwarded. The listener doesn’t need to be near a PC, unlike most forms of Internet radio.

The number of regular podcasts is well over 800 and growing daily. Many focus on gadgets, technology, and podcasting itself. Others highlight new bands and music or discuss the latest developments in politics, movies, and sports. There are podcasts for beer lovers and wine aficionados, even a few for astronomy buffs and for activities performed in the buff.

Productions range from stream-of-consciousness rants punctuated by “uhs” to highly professional shows complete with sound effects and music. Unlike radio, there’s no time limit, deadlines, or government oversight of what’s said.

But is there money to be made? Maybe, podcasters say.

Daniel Gregoire of Louisville, Ky., who runs one of the go-to Web sites for anyone interested in the phenomenon, says he’s looking at a number of business models, including offering a service to host shows or simple tools to put them online.

“Even though it’s relatively easy, there are still stumbling blocks,” he said.

Real radio stations are also taking note. Public radio’s WGBH in Boston has started podcasting its weekly “American Stories” segment, which saw its downloads jump to 57,000 in December from 30 in the first week the podcasts were offered.

“Those are the kinds of trend lines that get your attention,” said Robert Lyons, the station’s director of radio and new media initiatives. “They certainly got ours.”

Podcasting isn’t likely to threaten traditional broadcasting any time soon, as the number of digital music players is only in the tens of millions, compared with hundreds of millions of radios. But as the player market grows – and more devices such as cell phones become capable of playing audio files – it could pull away advertising dollars, especially those that target younger generations.

Public radio is showing the most interest, both in distributing traditional programs as podcasts and looking for new voices.