WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — On a long flight, you are a captive audience. A group that promotes the 13-county Research Triangle Region is using that as an opportunity to drum up business. For the month of May, the area is being featured on an in-flight TV show.

The video, playing on 30,000 international and transcontinental flights on United, US Airways, America West and Northwest, features the area's universities, the companies and sports offerings.

"As long as we can keep the Research Triangle region as good as it is and even improve on it, it will help the entire state by bringing in more tax dollars and more growth that will fuel all sorts of things," said Charles Hayes, of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership.

Officials estimate more than 2 million international and transcontinental travelers will see the program. The idea is to catch the eyes and ears of business travelers who make decisions on where to locate future businesses.

Several other counties are also trying to cash in on the success of the Transpark idea, including Lenoir County. Although, the

Global TransPark

was modeled after RTP, it has failed to come close to yielding the same returns.

Earlier this year, Person, Granville, Franklin, Vance and Warren counties announced plans to create their own mini-hub. It, too, would provide jobs that focus on research and development, bio-tech and technology.