If all of this is too confusing and expensive, you can try the following: If you travel to the same region frequently, buy a local phone with a local pre-paid GSM card.

Especially in Europe that is very convenient. You can buy very cheap GSM 900/1800 phones. If you buy a pre-paid GSM card you don't need to sign up, don't have to give a billing address and so on; you just buy the card. You'll have a local number and get low local rates (another plus, the caller know that you are overseas and there are no roaming charges). Depending on the provider, pre-paid cards can be recharged over the phone from a credit card or debit account. If you recharge the card periodically it will not expire and you can keep your "overseas" number.

Pre-paid cards can be ordered over the Internet. Most providers offer information on their internet pages (British providers are convinient because the language, but German providers are also good and Italian providers can have very low domestic rates.)

Hope it helps.
(There are other posts about this topic and how to get the pre-paid cards)

[This message has been edited by Greg45 (edited 09-07-2001).]