Lonely Planet US General Manager, Todd Sotkiewicz, laid down the challenge to his fellow Americans as he accepted the company`s fourth-consecutive `People`s Voice` award at the Webby Awards announced in New York City this week.

One of the more charming idiosyncrasies of the Webby Awards, the annual awards for achievement in Web creation, requires that recipients use five words, and five words only, to make their acceptance speeches.

So what was Sotkiewicz getting at? Travel is one of the world`s great activities. Yet many Americans don`t travel, especially abroad, simply because they don`t have passports. We are doing something about it. We are creating a movement...a movement to get Americans to travel said Sotkiewicz.

Known has `Project Passport`, from its office in California Lonely Planet is gathering individual signatures for a petition to support an initiative in the US Congress to designate September as National Passport Month.

Lonely Planet has created a micro site to gather individual signatures for the petition. I would like to personally invite all of you to be among the first to sign this petition, Sotkiewicz told those attending the Awards ceremony.

It`s a bold and exciting challenge, and one I fully endorse, says Judy Slatyer, Lonely Planet`s CEO.

The fact that Sotkiewicz and his team are daring to do this is highlights Lonely Planet`s unique position in the travel arena.

Slatyer adds, We at Lonely Planet are passionately dedicated to the promotion of travel, and to sharing the riches and rewards that travel bestows.

The passport is a portal to discovery, education and connection, and the aim of Project Passport is to focus attention on the many benefits of having and using a passport.