  Four-dimensional string theories predict in general the existence of light
exotic particles with fractional electric charges. Such particles could escape
present observations if they are confined by a gauge group of the "hidden"
sector into integrally charged states. It is conceivable that the same gauge
group is also responsible for dynamical supersymmetry breaking, via gaugino and
scalar condensation. The communication of the breaking to the observable sector
is now mediated by ordinary gauge interactions, implying that the confining
scale can be in the TeV-region. We study the main phenomenological implications
of this possibility. In particular, we analyze the pattern of supersymmetry
breaking and the mass-spectrum of the sparticles. We also show that this
scenario can be consistent with the unification of all coupling constants at
the string scale.
