Don't Log Off

Alan Dein attempts to cross the world on a series of late night excursions via Facebook and Skype - discovering the real life dramas behind the online profiles across two programmes. It's a hesitant start as Alan starts from a "Friend" count of zero, struggling to lure users away from the anonymity of the keyboard to the glare of the webcam - and engage in real verbal communication. Yet over five long late nights, he gradually builds up a circle of friends, crossing the time zones and discovering some startling stories. In programme one, Alan's in the realm of love and loss - online and offline. He connects with a single parent snowbound in Nova Scotia, an Egyptian whose online romance turned sour and a Pakistani yearning for a girl from the wrong caste. In programme two, he's among those dreaming of freedom, talking to a man car-jacked in Caracas, and an Iranian evading the electronic eavesdropping of the authorities. Previously, Alan Dein brought us the acclaimed Don't Hang Up, in which he set himself