There's a name change for Rudy's sixth season of public television shows to better reflect the wide-ranging choice of destinations. "Rudy Maxa's World," which began airing on most public television stations in May 2008, includes shows on St. Petersburg (Russia); Estonia; India ("Rajasthan" and "Delhi/Agra"); Turkey ("Istanbul" and "The Turquoise Coast"); Argentina ("Buenos Aires" and "Mendoza"); Thailand ("Bangkok," "The Andaman Coast," and "Thailand's Golden Triangle"); and Japan ("Tokyo" and "Kyoto."

Information on purchasing DVDs will be available soon.

For the first time, Rudy and his crew turn their talents and High Definition cameras eastward, to the Pacific Rim. As with Rudy's 52, half-hour episodes on Europe, this season's new shows focus on the art, culture, architecture, history, and cuisine of some of the Pacific Rim's most popular cities and regions. And like Rudy's absorbing, award-winning series on Europe, viewers will be transported to exciting destinations via the lush, detailed magic of High Defintion.

Destinations in the 2006 series that PBS stations will begin airing in mid-April (check local listings) include San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver/Victoria, Hawaii (two episodes), New Zealand (2), Australia (2), Mexico (2), Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Previous European episodes featured shows on Dublin and Ireland's west coast, Prague and Budapest, Norway, Sweden, Normandy, Champagne, the Romantic Road and the Rhine and Mosel river regions of Germany, as well as the Emilia Romagna and Veneto regions of Italy. And earlier shows also included the French Riviera, Burgundy & the Loire Valley, Athens & the Greek Islands, Vienna, Berlin, Munich & Southern Germany, Milan & the Lake Region, and Sicily.

Shows from the first season included Paris, London, Rome, Venice, Provence, Tuscany & Umbria, Amsterdam, and Brussels. To date, Series I and II have won eleven major national awards including four CINE Golden Eagle awards, five Telly Awards, and two International Communicator Awards of Excellence