 With the explosion of the Internet in the mid-1990s, Microsoft launched its own version of “virtual expeditions on the World Wide Web.” The software company created an online magazine devoted to adventure travel in life and literature. For two exicting and innovative years, MungoPark.com had quite a run. We covered a return descent of Ethiopia’s Takese River, complete with online interviews of Ziggy Marley and the President of Ethiopia; we went into orbit with the Space Shuttle Columbia, chatted underwater with Jean-Michel Cousteau in Fiji, fled to the Islands of Love with Dr. Ruth, rode down Chile with Lyle Lovett and visited Newfoundland with Martha Stewart, among other adventures. In a word, it was cool. To learn more, and see a video review, visit this page. |
 “Great Escapes leverages technology into the 21st century. Today, with satellite technologies and the Internet, we can stretch the wire of the imagination, and break the tyranny of distance and delay. Our hope is that we will serve travel and its inspirations in a way no other medium can achieve.” These travel projects, sponsored by state tourism boards, Ford and HP among others, included the states of Colorado and Texas, the Missouri River, and Papua New Guinea’s “Digital Village.” Visit this page to learn more about MSNBC’s Great Escapes. |
 During 2004, MSN experimented with live online expeditions under the banner of First and Best. The first series of dispatches detailed the “heroes of Africa,” who stayed in their home countries to help out rather than fleeing to the developed world. Then we followed Ed Viesturs‘ ascent of Annapurna, and traveled across the state of Texas and down the coast of California. Unfortunately MSN discontinued and unpublished the series, and this rich and evocative content is no longer available on the Web. |
 In September 2002, the online magazine Slate began a monthly series of travel assignments called Well-Traveled. Daily dispatches from award-winning writers from today’s popular press were complemented by digital photo galleries and other media as appropriate. Key adventures may be visited at the following links:
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 The TerraQuest site was seminal in the evolution of live expeditions on the Internet. For years it captured the imagination of its audience — primary and secondary school students, curious Web surfers, scientists and media geeks — as well as fans of travel and travelers themselves. From Antarctica, to Ecuador and the Galapagos, and finally up El Capitan with Eric Weihenmayer, TerraQuest went where no one had gone before, and had fun doing it. Visit TerraQuest or check out this page for more information. |
“If travel and exploration contribute to an understanding of human flourishing, then we hope we’ve added to the affluence with Richard Bangs Adventures.” Our first-rate media team packed up our digital portmanteaux and circled the globe, seeking out people who are making a difference, in their world and ours, by expending their energy, enterprise and time in pursuit of worthwhile passions and purpose. Projects included online expeditions in Switzerland, Thailand, Panama, Rwanda, Israel, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovnia. To learn more visit this page about Richard Bangs Adventures. 
