• November 30, 2004

MSNBC.com today plans to launch the fourth installment of the travel documentary "Great Escapes Digital Village," which will follow Richard Bangs, executive producer and host, on a trip to New Guinea. Great Escapes quietly launched in June, with a photo documentary of Grover, Colorado.

The current two-month-long expedition, which actually began on Nov. 21, was previewed yesterday and is now accessible at www.greatescapes.msnbc.com, where visitors can get satellite feeds of streamlined video--preceded by 15-second Hewlett-Packard Co. ads--audio interviews, and the digital photo imagery captured by Bangs' team and the residents themselves.

MSNBC.com and sponsor HP outfitted Bangs--a cofounder of travel site Expedia.com--and his crew with battery-powered cameras and photo printers, to help the people of Long Lebusan, a village on the banks of the Waghi River, show how they view life in their remote region of the world. "Great Escapes" will be advertised on the MSNBC home page.