It has been shown that the molecular dynamics technique allows for a very detailed study of the dynamics of spreading at the microscopic scale for both complete and partial wetting regimes. In particular, we obtain non-monotonic behavior for the equilibrium molecular jump frequency K-0 versus the amplitude of the liquid/solid interaction, stressing the importance of frictional processes between the liquid and solid in wetting phenomena. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.