SOUTHLAKE, Texas Travelocity, the giant online travel agency that specializes in air travel, has come up with a new product that would seem perfectly suited to the motorcoach industry.

The program is based on the idea that more and more people are looking to enrich their travel by volunteering, but many are daunted by longer trips to remote destinations.

To introduce more people to what Travelocity calls "the gratification of volunteer travel," the agency has kicked off new "bite-size" volunteer adventures as part of its Travel for Good program.

The first bite-size volunteer experience, developed with environmental group Earthwatch, entails one-day of monitoring the mammals of Monterey Bay in Northern California, logging the behavior of sea otters, dolphins and hump-back whales to ensure the populations are stable.

Travelocity says that so-called volunteer vacations are steadily increasing in popularity. The company forecast poll for 2007 found that 11 percent of respondents plan to volunteer during their vacations this year up from 6 percent in 2006.

"Bite-size volunteer adventures make it easy for volunteers to participate in opportunities close to home or spend a portion of their vacation enhancing the local community they're visiting," says Travelocity.

"Not everyone can take the time to go on an extended volunteer vacation outside of the country," said Jeffrey Glueck, chief marketing officer for Travelocity.

"We've been working with our Travel for Good partners to create volunteer opportunities for travelers on a smaller scale because lives can still be transformed with a few hours of giving."

Travelocity has created a tab under the outdoor category on its Website, www.travelocity.com, that allows travelers to book a volunteer trip in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose or Monterey. The bite-size adventure is also offered as an add-on activity when consumers book a trip to the Bay Area.

To check it out, go to: www.travelocity.com/marinemammals.