Spot 4 (or 7!),
I've found AOL to offer the best overseas connections. You can access a list of all the countries where it's possible to connect to it using a local number - although connection speeds are frequently very slow, so it may not be possible to use it for surfing the net. If you let me know which country you're going to I'll check on my AOL access numbers and let you know if they have a local access number where you're going. AOL can be used almost anywhere in Europe, but the Middle East is often a problem as the state telephone companies normally have a monopoly on all telecommunications services (so they can block access to any porn sites!!). AOL is usable in many African countries, though sometimes connections are rather poor. I usually find it's pretty cheap just to sign on for an account with a local ISP and then I just use hotmail or yahoo so I don't need to keep changing my e-mail address every time I go to a new country. Even then, there is a service available which will forward your e-mails for you to your normal e-mail address. You will often have to pay to access any of these overseas numbers, but that's not normally a problem if you use them only for e-mails. The other alternative is to visit internet cafes for your surfing. I'll be away in Africa for Christmas and only able to use the internet for e-mail so I know how you feel.