 Senator Barack Obama has already built up strong online support |
The link-up by broadcaster CNN and the video-sharing website YouTube is being hailed as a political milestone.
About 2,000 30-second questions have been submitted, ranging from issues such as Iraq to health care and Darfur. Up to 30 will be put to the candidates.
Analysts say online video could play a big role in the 2008 White House race.
Candidates from both parties have been trying to build up internet support using social networking and video-sharing sites, with Democratic Senator Barack Obama proving particularly successful.
The Republicans will be asked questions submitted via YouTube on 17 September in Florida.
Cancer appeal
Monday's debate in South Carolina began broadcasting at 1900 EST (2300 GMT). It is putting the challengers for the Democratic nomination on the spot with questions directly from the voters.
We are the average American, the YouTube user, and we are being let into the inner sanctum 
CNN's politics team has selected the questions to be asked. The videos, which range from high-production numbers to grainy webcam shoots, are often quirky and very personal.
In one, a 36-year-old cancer patient called Kim pulls off a wig to reveal hair loss from chemotherapy as she asks about health care for those without health insurance.
In other clips, members of the public ask the candidates about their plans for Iraq after troop withdrawal, their foreign policy views and environmental issues.
Analysts say the questions, because they are personal, may be less predictable and harder for the candidates to answer than those usually posed by journalists.
Public access
About 10 members of the public who submitted questions were invited to South Carolina to watch the debate and will have access to the candidates afterwards in the "spin room", where they talk to journalists.
Steve Petersen, a political blogger from Maryland who was one of those picked, told the BBC News website he was very excited to be attending.
In his 19-second video, he asks the presidential candidates where they get their information about world and current events from and why they trust those sources.
"It appears that CNN and YouTube really want to bring the average American into the process," he said, speaking from South Carolina.
"We are the average American, the YouTube user, and we are being let into the inner sanctum where usually only journalists and campaign staffers can go."
The candidates have already tried to engage with the YouTube audience, with Senator Joseph Biden, for example, uploading a guide telling supporters how to submit a question on Iraq.
John Edwards, former senator for North Carolina, said in a YouTube video that he expected to hear different questions from the public than from the media. He will hold a live webcast after the event.
Some commentators, however, have suggested the excitement over the debate may turn out to be more hype than a real turning point in US politics.
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