Hi everyone!

I am newbie here. What I need is create a project that can turn on and off light (220V) with microcontroler using PC. It is like small home automation but only for lights and electromotors. Can you explain me what do I need to do to do that, what microcontroller, how to make serial connection, how to make programmer (is serial connection same as programmer?) and how to make microcontroller turn on the light bulb (is it with relay?)..
I know how to make software but I need details on hardware. Is at89c51 good for that? I really need simplest solution and I hope you can help me.

you can do it with pc's parallel port.but if you want large distance or less wires, serial can be the choice.

pc-->microcontroller-->circuitry for deriving relays-->relays

you can use 89c2051...but this choice depends on number of outputs you want to have

I want just few outputs (not more than 8) and serial connection would be fine. Where to find schematics for programmer and serial connection?

It's better to use an ISP chip which can be programmed easily(with minimal hw).No point wasting time building a programmer or wasting money buying one.
Use AT89S51 with this programmer http://www.kmitl.ac.th/~kswichit%20/cheapcable/index.html
or a Philips P89C51RDxx (bit costly) which only requires a serial cable for programming.
As for the serial hw,we have it right here in the Tutorial section.
http://www.8051projects.net/serial-communication/introduction.php