Come on guys, just because you're all seasoned travellers, not exactly the best way of welcoming a new poster...

Per previous postings, a decent travel agent will help - avoid any mainstream companies and zone in on RTW specialists.

A good starting point for you is the One World site (www.oneworld.com): there you'll find a timetable for all member airlines, to give you an idea of what routes they fly, and the all important rules under each of the ticket products (look for Terms & Conditions).

Btw, get yourself a frequent flyer membership from one of the alliance members before you go - the logical choice may not be the member airline where you live and beware of those that impose restrictions on mileage accumulation (eg BA/AA have a reciprocal agreement not to award points on transatlantic routes).

If this isn't something you've done before the first couple of long haul flights might prove an ordeal but you'll quickly become acclimatised. I've found a good tactic is to break up each 11-15 hr flight with at least a 24 hour stopover.

Given this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for you, consider a ticket in business class, though you might want to save your hard-earned for spending money when you get to each of your stop-offs.

Best of luck with the trip and be a responsible traveller - these kinds of tickets make the world a smaller place but respect its diversity (sorry, couldn't resist a cheesy footnote).