Just as the Conservatives are trying to present a warmer, gentler side of Stephen Harper, the Liberals are attempting to strengthen Stephane Dion's image in minds of Canadians.

The Liberals are launching a website to be dubbed "This is Dion" which will feature new images of the Liberal leader.

In some of the pictures, Dion is shown outdoors, fishing, snowshoeing and spending time with his dog and his family. They were published in the Globe and Mail on Tuesday before the website went live.

A fiesty Dion told a news conference on Tuesday that it's important Canadians learn about who he really is.

"People will need to know that because I will affect their life, if as I hope, they choose me as their prime minister," Dion said.

Though he acknowledged he is an intellectual who loves to read, Dion dismissed the nerdy professor image the Conservatives have put forward. He said he is also an avid outdoorsman and an everyday Canadian who grew up in a family of five children raised on a single income. Dion also said he's not wealthy.

"Canadians need to know I'm not a rich man. I have a life like anyone else. We have a dissussion at the end of the month about how to pay the bills," he said.

CTV parliamentary correspondent Graham Richardson reported Tuesday that the Liberals have been working hard to fight the image put forward by the Conservatives that Dion is weak and ineffective.

"Image is everything, pictures are everything, especially in a battle like this where you're talking about the personality of the leader," Richardson told CTV's Canada AM.

The website will also portray Dion as having steely resolve on issues such as separatism and the Clarity Act.

The Tories have launched a website that slams Dion and appears aimed at attracting mainstream media-shunning younger voters.

The slick site notaleader.ca contains such features as a "Dion excuse generator" where users can send an email to a friend using a Dion quote, such as "I didn't get it done", as an excuse.

The site is a mix of flash and html applications that give users the opportunity to:

• Create and share their own campaign ads,
• Play a Liberal policy gambling game,
• Visit the "Dionbook," a Facebook knock-off,
• Engage in street debating - a mixture of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter
• Get campaign updates on the NAL (not a leader) news site

Dion dismissed the site and vowed that he will take the high road in the election campaign.

"This is saying more about them than about us," said a fiesty Dion on Tuesday. He added: "I want to clarify my answer -- not about them, about him, because I know most Conservative voters will disagree with that and they may change their vote."

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have been running a series of television ads that portray Stephen Harper as a warm family man.