HE crossed the globe in search of strangers cyberspace almost forgot, fanatically hunting down his next challenge with words so rarely used they redefine obscurity.

He jetted 90,000 miles in two months, from North Wales to Seattle, San Diego to the south of France and from Texas to Essex through to Oz.

Dave Gorman's challenge? Put off writing his novel at any cost and find ten consecutive Googlewhacks before his 32nd birthday.

For the uninitiated, a Googlewhack involves putting two words into Internet search engine Google that throw up just one response from an estimated three billion pages.

That's pretty difficult, and to prove the point, here's a few examples: spendthrift Glaswegians, candyfloss draughtsman, Francophile namesake and unconstructive super-egos.

Armed with precious Googlewhacks, Gorman then contacted whoever ran the website they led him to. Then he travelled to meet them and hen convince them to find two Googlewhacks of their own.

And so the chain continued with devastatingly funny, poignant and maddeningly frustrating results.

On paper, maybe Gorman's trawl through technology looks a little dry, hard to sustain over a two-hour monologue.

But his warm, inclusive approach to story-telling crackled with the warm glow of a lovingly-kept coal fire.

He retold his epic trek - verified through a constant stream of holiday snap-style photos and plane boarding passes beamed onto a giant screen - in animated fashion and with invigorating unpredictability.

A packed crowd was gripped as coincidences stacked up in bewildering fashion and strangers opened their doors to Gorman's charms.

Gorman's adventures took in a Texan tattoo parlour, a Heathrow hangover, discussing creationist mumbo-jumbo with a pensioner called Duane and eating Pot Noodle with a toothbrush, naked.

Fantastically funny throughout, Gorman ended his set by taking on unbelievers who cast doubt on his gripping yarn.

Attacking them with an anger bordering on the psychotic, few in the Grand Opera House were left in any doubt.

Yes, this man's behaviour is more than a little bizarre, but he's certainly no liar.

So, what next for Gorman, the man who famously travelled the world to meet people who share his name.

Search me...

Updated: 10:10 Tuesday, May 25, 2004