In a recent wide-ranging conference call with reporters from around the U.S., 'N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez took on questions about the group's upcoming world tour, the hazards of being in a boy group, the group's troubles with its former manager and record label, and many other subjects.

'N Sync's North American tour opens May 9 in Biloxi, Miss., and concludes on July 30 Hershey, Penn. The group is supporting of their sophomore album, ''No Strings Attached,'' which is in its fourth week at No 1 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart.

On the "rivalry" with fellow boy group the Backstreet Boys:

JC Chasez: Actually people make a bigger deal out it than we really do. It's not something we concentrate on. We just do what we do day in and day out, what we've done from the beginning, and that's ..our music and our shows. And so we really don't worry about comparisons or anything like that...But it's not like--even basketball players or any other sport, they don't go to sleep at night going "I hate those guys." They just want to be better for themselves.

On humorous 'N Sync-related websites:

Chris Kirkpatrick: I think they're cool. ..A lot of the girls .. put disclaimers on the front of the Web site saying, "if you don't have a sense of humor, don't come here" because they're just out to have fun. And I think it's their way of showing their, commitment and dedication to us by saying they're tired of seeing, you know, just all the Web sites that say, ''Oh, JC Chasez is so hot. Oh, Lance is so hot.''

They basically want to use their talents and ability of being witty and put them on a Web site and make it like really interesting for people who have a good sense of humor. And I love them. I think they're great.

On the possibility of going solo:

JC: It's not something we're thinking about right now... We've got a good thing going right now and I think we're going to concentrate on that.

On the Columbine High School shootings:

CK: I think we all remember exactly where we were at the time. We were out in LA and we were doing some stuff out there. And I had just come back to the hotel when I saw it was on TV and I started watching it.

But I think the main thing about all that is ever since that happened, the five of us have made it one of our goals to, you know, correct what went wrong. And we've gone out and we've done a lot more stuff with charity work and with things that we thought would help contribute to getting kids more active in schools and less active in thinking that they're all by themselves and that nobody understands them.

On Sisquo, the opening act for the upcoming tour, and his sometimes-suggestive lyrics:

CK: I don't think he's going to offend anybody, because I think he might tone it down a little bit [since Sisquo understands that] our crowd is not 100% his crowd. And his crowd isn't 100% our crowd. He's a professional, you know. He'll perform accordingly to who his audience is.

We'll definitely make sure that he's aware of it, and if any problems arise, we won't have any problems sitting down and going over exactly what's going on...We understand that we've got an image to uphold.

On performing before large crowds:

JC: You can feel the wave come all the way from the back to the front of the audience. ..It's indescribable. The energy in a room like that is amazing, that that many people came out to party with you.

On the ABC-TV program about the making of a boy band:

CK: I think the making of a boy band is kind of, you know, cheesy. And that kind of hurts our image because that has nothing to do with us. Since it was made by one of the guys that put money behind us in the beginning, they flip it around and make it look like he's out there, he's the one that's putting the group together. He's the one sitting in choreography rehearsals, putting his input. He's the one in vocal rehearsals, when in actuality, you know, we didn't talk to him for months at a time.

It kind of clumps us into this thing and [makes] us look like we're like that group. And it really kind of takes away some of our credibility.

On singing a cappella:

JC: We always sang a cappella from the very beginning. We do it almost anywhere. If somebody starts singing usually everybody will start joining in. We'll start making up stuff. It could be anywhere, anytime. It could be back stage on the bus. It could be in the middle of a restaurant... We're not shy about that kind of thing.

On the song "Space Cowboy," from the new album ''No Strings Attached'':

JC: Actually, a lot of people think it's creative, you know what I mean. They feel like it's kind of pushing the door to a new sound.. . We don't want everything to sound the same, and we don't want everything to sound like what everybody else is doing. So you want to try and push and be a pioneer to create a new song.

On dealing with the press:

JC: International press is probably the toughest. Because we'll sit in a room all day. And they'll come in one at a time, you know. And they'll get 15 minutes to a half an hour but it will be the exact same questions. That's when it gets exhausting...

On the bad aspects of being in 'N Sync:

JC: Lack of sleep.

CK: It's a lot of work. We don't get as much time to rest as we used to. And just when you think you have a day off that -- we never get days off anymore. For the last five years, we've maybe had like a week off.

On the next video:

CK: Yes, we've got another video [coming for "It's Going To Be Me"]. We're actually flying to LA this weekend or early next week to go shoot. And should be out maybe three weeks, four weeks.

On overzealous fans:

CK: I think there's been a couple of times where we've been really worried more about [the fans'] safety. When [we're] out there, our security is there for us to protect us. But they're [also] there for the fans because sometimes when [fans] get really excited and really hyped up, they don't realize what they're doing. Sometimes they'll like be in a mass of people and just start climbing over people to get to what they want to get to.

On the Napster controversy:

JC: ..It's definitely an issue that's going to have to be dealt with. And I really don't even have a clue as to how they're going to collect [royalties] or fix it or do whatever they do. But it's going to be dealt with because it's not just the artist. You're messing with the writer's companies now. And they don't want to lose that money, you know?

On avoiding the fate of New Kids On The Block:

JC: Well, Jordan [Knight] actually toured with us. And those guys went .. through the biggest highs and the lowest lows. And Jordan came out -- from when I spoke to him -- a really decent person. He's a normal person like anybody else. And the one piece of advice that he really gave us-and it was kind of inspiring-was "know your power." When we were going through that whole lawsuit thing, believe it or not, I just kind of kept it in the back of my head. He was just like, "know your power. This is your career. People want to take things from you and do this to you, but it's not their career. It's yours."

On battling their former record label and manager in court:

CK: I don't think it leaves us bitter. I think it leaves us more aware of everything that's going on. It is a music business and not a music fun time. When it comes to our show, we try to cut costs, say, "is this going to be worth doing this? Do we need to do this?" [The court battle] made us a lot more aware of the money side of the business. .. When it came to the lawsuit we were worried in the first place that we weren't going to get out of it. We thought that this was going to hold our careers up for a good five years, keep us in litigation's in different trials here and there. But, luckily we got out of it.

On the band's decision-making process since the lawsuit:

CK: We have a lot more control. We are in charge of our careers now. We're very close with our business manager, with our personal manager. And at the end of the day we have the last say in everything.

On coping with travel:

CK: I always carry my laptop with me. That's like a major part of my luggage now. Because when I'm gone for so long, it's like my connection to the outside world. It's the way I can leave my little hotel room. So it's pretty pathetic, because we don't get to .. walk around. We try to go to the malls every once in a while, but sometimes that gets a little hectic. So for the most part, we're stuck in our hotel rooms eating hotel food and typing on the Internet figuring out what's new in the news or what new video games I can destroy.

On the physical demands of the job:

JC: I mean this tour is going to be physically exhausting. I think everybody who watches the show, they're going to walk away amazed, but they're going to walk away tired. And that includes the fans because it's such a high-energy show. I mean, we've been looking at the set list and working out the details of the show, and we're literally now trying to find places where we can breathe because it's a wild show.

On preparations for the tour:

JC: Well we're taking a month, this entire month actually, because we have to choreograph the entire new album. The dance rehearsals now, since we're quicker to learn things, we've shortened to I'd say six hours. And then we go hang with the band for a few hours after the dance rehearsals.

CK: I'd say [rehearsals] run anywhere from six hours to 12 hours.

On the show's theme:

CK: Well the theme is No Strings Attached, same as the album. ..It's almost like an old puppet stage, you know, back like [a] Pinocchio-type deal.

And then halfway through the show we kind of switch it and take from what we've gone through and where we've been and to the future and where we want to be and where we're going with everything. It's almost like a story of our lives, taking what's happened to us, the beginning, where we've been and then where we're going.

We're not going to really give anything away because we want this show to be so in your face.

JC: The show that we're doing now is actually longer than the last show because now we have two albums worth of material to cover. But there's going to be some other stuff in the show. ...This show is like 'N Sync interactive. You know, there's some really cool stuff where the crowd gets involved in a lot of the show that we planned out.