Fridae

The latest installment of the globetrotting series, The Amazing Race 4, will include a gay couple team from Los Angeles, California and for the first time ever - a lesbian model/actress/singer who is competing with her straight model/actress friend from Miami, Florida, according to the show's Web site.

Reichen, 28, is a former US Air Force officer and pilot who teaches at a Los Angeles flight school, and his partner, Chip, 36, is president of a media company lived in Hong Kong for three years, in Paris for six months and in London for two years.

Their bio also reveals that Reichen's views on relationship is much more liberal than Chip's - he enjoys flirting with other guys, although that makes Chip upset.

Tian, 30, who said the thing she would miss most from home is her Ducati Monster motorbike, was "outed" by her 33-year-old teammate, Jaree, in their bio. Jaree's bio read: "She was disappointed when she found out that Tian, "likes girls." Jaree got over it, but admits that if Tian ever hit on her, it'd be over between them."

In the last series, although three openly gay men competed - Andrew with his father Dennis, Aaron with his best friend Arianne and Ken with his brother Gerald - good-looking identical twin brothers, Derek and Drew got the most attention from gay TV viewers.

As before, 12 teams of two people, each with a pre-existing relationship, will race around the world, competing for a US$1 million prize. The last team to reach each interim destination is eliminated.

The 12 teams this time include a pair of air traffic controllers, two wives of National Football League players, a couple that's been dating chastely for 12 years and two professional clowns.

The new series will debut with a 90-minute episode at 8pm, Thursday, May 29 in the US.