Bebo and Endemol Announce American Contestant for Online Interactive Reality Series The Gap Year

Chicago's Cara Cioni selected to represent US in unprecedented interactive reality series; Bebo community will decide the course of her globe trotting journey Manitoba's Andre Tardiff to represent Canada; UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand winners still to come.

Global social media network Bebo and leading reality TV producer Endemol UK today announced the name of the US winner chosen to travel the world as part of groundbreaking interactive reality series, The Gap Year, set to take off exclusively on Bebo on Wednesday, May 21. 24-year old Cara Cioni from Chicago, Illinois has been selected to represent the United States and join five other intrepid travelers on an unforgettable global journey, where the 40 million strong Bebo community will help decide their fate. The broadcast journalism major's love of writing and documenting stories, combined with her passion and enthusiasm for international travel led her to the top spot. Last week, Andre Tardiff, 24-year old native of Brandon, Manitoba was announced as the Canadian traveler, and in the coming weeks, Bebo and Endemol will announce winners from the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

"Self expression, community and discovering new experiences are the heart of what Bebo is all about, and Cara is the perfect representation of all these values -- we wish her the best of luck as she sets out on her global adventure," said Joanna Shields, President at Bebo. "The Gap Year will be the first truly interactive reality series, adding another engaging and fun component to the Bebo user experience -- the chance to interact and steer the fate of six travelers as they encounter exciting adventures around the world."

Interactive casting calls on Bebo have been underway since December 2007, where users nominated themselves by submitting a video postcard about their 'dream' Gap Year. More than 400 applications poured in, with the Bebo community able to air support for their favorite hopefuls -- those whose travels they'd like to share vicariously. Producers short-listed applicants and set off on a global tour to meet the candidates face to face and make their final decisions on who would represent each country.

To mirror Bebo's global reach, the final six The Gap Year travelers will explore the world with an itinerary taking in far flung destinations including Iceland, South Africa, The Amazon, and Russia. The Gap Year voyagers will also experience amazing locations and events such as Machu Picchu, Peru; Euro 2008, Vienna; the Himalayas, Nepal; the Burning Man festival, Nevada; and the Full Moon Party Season, Thailand. Over the course of their journey, each traveler will face an array of challenges and surprises as they experience new cultures, meet new people, savor exotic food, experience cultural events, outdoor activities and entertainment, and even meet local celebrities.

During their adventures, The Gap Year travelers will chart their travels on Bebo as they live their lives out online, posting video diaries, blogs and photos. They'll stay in touch with friends back home through the power of Bebo and collect foreign friends along the way as the worldwide online community comes together to follow The Gap Year. Bebo users will not only be able to tune into the series, but also view exclusive footage with out-takes and interviews only available within the community. A catch-up show will also be broadcast each week on the site.

The Gap Year will allow Beboers to engage with the six travelers directly to share travel tips, create their own travel encyclopedia, comment on The Gap Year blogs, and vote in weekly polls which will have a direct influence on how their journeys unravel.

Bebo is the world's leading global social media network. Building on the notion of traditional social networking websites, Bebo combines community, self-expression and entertainment to enable its users to consume, create, discover and share professional and user-generated content through the Bebo website. Bebo has 11.4m unique users in the UK and a total membership of more than 40 million worldwide. Bebo also ranks as the UK's most engaging social network with users spending an average of 33 minutes on the site per usage day (Source: comScore Media Metrix, Jan. 2008).

ENDEMOL UK is one of Britain's largest independent producers of TV and digital media content and is responsible annually for more than 5,000 hours of programming.

The UK group is part of ENDEMOL a worldwide network of leading production companies spanning 25 countries.

SOURCE Bebo