Bebo Chooses Gap Year Traveler For Interactive Reality Series

Bebo has announced the U.S. winner of a contest to star in a reality series about young people traveling globe.

The Gap Year will launch on the social media network site May 21 and follow Cara Cioni, a 24-year-old from Chicago, as she and five other travelers tour the world. Bebo's online community will make decisions for the group as their travels are chronicled, with the help of reality TV producer Endemol.

Cioni is a broadcast journalism major with a passion for international travel. She will join Andre Tardiff, a 24-year-old from Brandon, Manitoba and yet-to-be-announced winners from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Bebo has held interactive casting calls since December 2007. More than 400 users nominated themselves with video postcards about their dream Gap Year and members of Bebo's 40 million-strong community support those whose travels they would like to watch. Producers narrowed the selection and toured the world to meet the candidates and make the final decisions.

The group's tour will include visits to Iceland, South Africa, the Amazon, Russia, Machu Picchu, Peru; Vienna, the Himalayas, the Burning Man festival in Nevada, and the Full Moon Party Season in Thailand. Individuals will face challenges and surprises as they engage in outdoor activities and cultural events along the way. They will meet locals and celebrities, while recording their experiences on Bebo through video diaries, blogs, photos, correspondence with friends, out-takes, and interviews.

The site will air a "catch-up show" each week.

Users can share travel tips, create their own travel encyclopedias, comment on blogs, and cast weekly votes to influence the trips.

Bebo President Joanna Shields said The Gap Year will be the first truly interactive reality series.