The windswept shingle of Brighton will compete with the golden sands of the Seychelles in a contest to find the world's best beach.

Student Pete Shannon, 26, from Chichester, has beaten 1,000 other hopefuls to the mission of a lifetime.

In the next eight weeks he will cross all six continents, notching up 54,000 air miles, on his dream quest to visit the planet's top 20 beaches.

After starting with Brighton beach tomorrow, Pete will jet off, leaving behind England's wind, rain and snow to enjoy summer in the Southern hemisphere.

He will sample the delights of Camps Bay in Cape Town, South Africa, before heading for the sun-soaked coastlines of Kenya, Mauritius, the Seychelles and the Maldives.

During the all-expenses- paid trip, Pete's most pressing demand is likely to be digging out his notepad to jot down the pros and cons of his destinations - helping him decide whether he prefers the nightlife of Thailand's renowned party island Koh Samui, or the watersports of Australia's famous Bondi Beach.

Describing the winning feeling, after being told internet travel firm Expedia had picked him for the trip, Pete said: "It's fantastic. I still can't believe it."

Pete has already seen some of the world's more far-flung spots.

He spent six months in Sydney as part of his university course, backpacked through Australia, worked a ski season in the Alps, inter-railed in Europe and enjoys beach holidays.

Dermot Halpin, managing director of Expedia, said of the trip: "It's a tough job but somebody has to do it. Unfortunately we can't all go so we'll have to let Pete do it for us."

After leaving the Indian Ocean islands, Pete will work his way east, stopping twice in Thailand before arriving Down Under.

He will see Australia's 75 Mile Beach, New Zealand's 90 Mile Beach and Fiji's Eight Month Beach.

He will island-hop the Pacific, jumping from Fiji to Hawaii en route to Daytona Beach, Florida.

A whistle-stop tour of the Caribbean and South America will finally come to an end when Pete has a chance to top up his tan in Greece, before finally hanging up his sandals back at home in March.

After visiting all 20 beaches in 16 countries and travelling the equivalent of twice round the equator, Pete will reveal to beach lovers which shoreline deserves the title of world's best beach.