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Major brands fund Bebo's Gap Year Sony PSP, Trident and Doritos are among the companies that have signed up to sponsor social networking site Bebo's upcoming web series The Gap Year, a coproduction with Endemol UK.  Other sponsors of the six-month series include Acuvue, Canon, the UK's Royal Air Force, STA Travel, Tourism Auckland, in New Zealand, and Tourism Australia.The sponsors will provide goods and services to the show's participants to integrate advertising and maintain what Bebo calls "natural and seamless viewing." The two tourism organisations, for example, have designed adventure travel packages while the RAF will host mental and physical challenges at a number of its bases around the world. Canon will equip the travellers with camcorders, digital cameras and associated accessories, while Doritos' contribution is currently under wraps but promises to "add to the entertainment value of the show in a truly unique way." Each brand will also have a Bebo profile page featuring interactive elements. "It's incredibly exciting to have so many big-name brands on board for The Gap Year," said Bebo's VP of sales, Mark Charkin. "Their enthusiasm is evidence that brands are looking to use new media in innovative campaigns to really engage and develop long-term relationships with consumers, and The Gap Year is the perfect platform." Cody Hogarth, head of commercial partnerships at Endemol UK, added: "This is a phenomenally strong blue-chip line-up for us to launch with and there's still potential for more of these partnerships as the series progresses." The series, which follows six Bebo users from the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US as they spend a gap year travelling around the world, will launch on Wednesday on a dedicated mini-site. In other Bebo news, AOL, whose acquisition of Bebo was formally completed today, has announced that it will integrate Bebo into its new People Networks division. The social network's chief executive, Joanna Shields, has been promoted to executive VP of AOL and president of People Networks. Emily Brookes 19 May 2008 © C21 Media 2008 
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