Chloe Adkins, 8, is nervous. With her debut as a rock star imminent, the pint-sized "jukebox hero" can only sit on her hands and wait. She swings her feet and eyes the competition; at least everyone else seems sufficiently terrified, too.

Chloe can't be called unprepared. She practiced earlier in the day (and even got sponsored), and wore an especially glam ensemble for her moment in the spotlight - studded gloves, tights and chunky black boots.

"I feel like a rock star," she says.

When her name is called, she scurries to the front and picks up a guitar. It's half the size she is, but she straps on the instrument with ease. Feet firmly planted, she launches into the song's first few chords. Her mother cheers her on from the audience.

But Chloe isn't facing the audience - she's facing a white screen, lit with images from a projector - and she isn't into entertaining. This is a tournament, and she's intent on winning.

And her sleek black guitar? It's not real.

Chloe was one of 24 kids who competed in the first round of the Rapid City Public Library's "Guitar Hero III" tournament on July 25.

In the "Guitar Hero" series, players can choose to play solo or multiplayer on a team, or head-to-head in competition mode. The goal is to "beat" songs by strumming the correct chords - executed by pressing the guitar's multicolored buttons - in time to the music. In "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock," much of the music is original (not covers) and includes tracks from major artists such as Aerosmith, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine and Guns N' Roses.

The "Guitar Hero" video games have been immensely popular since the first edition was released in 2005. Since then, the series has garnered more than $1 billion in sales in North America alone.

Library associate Ron Hopp said the tournament is the first of its kind at the library. Many kinks, including rewriting the competition brackets, were still being worked out on the first afternoon.

"We're kind of winging it," Hopp said.

Fellow library associate Bryan Carnes came up with the idea after polling kids about activities they'd like to see; "Guitar Hero" and "Halo" (another video game series) tournaments were at the top of the list.

After receiving the go-ahead from the library board, Carnes and a gaming committee began promoting the event. Play N Trade, Mr. Movies, Girls Inc. and the Rapid City Club for Boys posted fliers. Play N Trade, a video game store, also donated a wireless guitar.

Response was positive (34 kids signed up), but Carnes had to turn many people away after the deadline. He also had to turn away others for another reason; they were too old.

"When we initially started, we had people my age calling," Carnes said.

Although the tournament was intended for those ages 8-18, Carnes heard from many college-aged kids and adults who wanted to sign up. In the future, he says, they may set up both youth and adult tournaments.

Carnes styled the competition brackets after those used in NCAA tournaments. Those of similar abilities - beginner, intermediate and expert - were pitted against each other. Carnes also made sure that brothers and sisters wouldn't face each other in play.

Competition continues each Friday until the finals on Aug. 15, with losers being eliminated along the way. The first-place winner will receive a copy of the newest "Guitar Hero" game to be released in October. The second- and third-place finishers will both receive an older Playstation 2 game.

Despite the prizes, Carnes heard that many participants would have played without a final reward. In truth, most seemed excited just to compete.

Corbyn Besson, 9, and his brother, Jordan, 8, could hardly wait for their turn. The pair from Rapid City passed the time "practicing" with an air guitar and trying to explain "Guitar Hero" terminology to their parents, Saskia and Ray.

"They think they're rock stars," Saskia Besson said. "Now they're starting to add moves as they play - spinning and dancing."

Even though the turnout to the preliminaries was varied - boys and girls of all ages -"Guitar Hero" wasn't for everyone. Many a brother and sister sat by as their siblings competed; some used computers, others perused books.

Justin Linville, 11, Ellsworth Air Force Base, waited patiently for his brother, Aaron, to finish. He finds "Guitar Hero" totally uninteresting.

"I can't really play the game," Justin said. "And it's not really the kind of music I listen to."

Justin plays the trumpet and enjoys the classical genre - Bach and Rachmaninoff, in particular.

But what if they made a "classical" version of "Guitar Hero"?

"I don't think that would be very successful," he said. "Maybe if the instrument was a cello."