  To describe the nonequilibrium states of a system we introduce a new
thermodynamic parameter - the lifetime of a system. The statistical
distributions which can be obtained out of the mesoscopic description
characterizing the behaviour of a system by specifying the stochastic processes
are written down. The expressions for the nonequilibrium entropy, temperature
and entropy production are obtained, which at small values of fluxes coincide
with those derived within the frame of extended irreversible thermodynamics.
The expressions generalizing the Maxwell-Cattaneo relations of extended
irreversible thermodynamics, and their analogues for mass transfer and chemical
reactions are obtained.
