Before an extended stay in Beijing later this summer, Matt Lauer and his team are ready to take off for their ninth "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"

The 210,721 miles Lauer has already logged have included stops in Rio, Marrakech and Mykonos; Easter Island, the Swiss Alps, and The Great Wall; Angkor Wat, Victoria Falls and Machu Pichu.

This year's week-long journey begins just in time for May sweeps on April 28.

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FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS AND PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF -- MATT LAUER IS DEPARTING ON ANOTHER 'WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER?' TOUR ON MONDAY, APRIL 28

For the Ninth Time "Today" Viewers Can Take a Trip Around the World With No Delays, No Security Lines and No Lost Luggage

NEW YORK – Monday, April 7, 2008 – He's logged over 210,721 miles, popped up in 39 different destinations, traveled by airplane, zip line, camel and gondola, and said hello to America in 20 languages. Starting Monday, April 28, Americans can once again ponder one of life's great mysteries... "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" as it returns to NBC's "Today."

This year's trip marks the ninth weeklong expedition for Lauer, whose past trips have taken him to such exotic locales as the royal kingdom of Bhutan, the cliffs of Moher in Galway, the mysterious Easter Island, the slopes of the Swiss Alps, the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and The Great Wall of China. Following the tradition of the series, Lauer will show up in a different location every day, without any advance warning. Meredith Vieira, Al Roker and Ann Curry, as well as millions of viewers at home, will have no idea where he'll be each day, until he appears live on the air at 7 a.m.

"Today" viewers are encouraged to dig deeper into the "Where in the World" series on TODAYshow.com, which will feature travel tips from Peter Greenberg, spectacular photos of the locations, and behind-the-scene stories about the making of "Where in the World" from "Today" correspondents and producers. Viewers can participate in the series by sharing photos of their own world travels on the "Where in the World Am I?" gallery, and by playing six new "Where in the World" games. TODAYshow.com also features a complete "Where in the World" archive for those who want to relive Matt's previous eight trips around the globe.

Over the course of the past journeys, "Today's" critically acclaimed series has landed Lauer in virtually every corner of the globe – including Cape Town, Dubai, Galway, Bhutan, Easter Island, Panama, Shanghai, Innsbruck, Dubrovnik, Botswana, Hong Kong, Moscow, the Pyramids in Egypt, Venice, Athens, the Taj Mahal in India, Sydney, Mount Everest, Rome, The U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt on patrols in the Mediterranean, The Great Wall of China in Beijing, an active volcano in Hawaii, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Pisa, Florence, Bilbao, the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, Machu Pichu in Peru, an oil rig off the coast of Scotland, Paris, Bangkok, Mykonos, Rio de Janeiro, Marrakech, Skibo Castle in Scotland, Angkor Wat, Monte Carlo and Cannes.

The "Where In the World is Matt Lauer?" series is sponsored Hyundai. Jim Bell is the executive producer of "Today" (Monday-Friday, 7-11 a.m.). Mary Alice O'Rourke is the special events producer of "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"