BBC World has announced a wide range of shows to captivate viewers of different tastes and dislikes with a line up that includes special areas including the arts, travel and the environment.

For people bitten by wanderlust, the channel will debut Fast Track next month, a show that examines tourist and business destinations. For people facinated with the Far East, there is the Arab World Direct, a show that takes a look at the culture and stories that make headlines in the region.

Earth 2002 Season which kicks off in August in time for the World Summit for sustaineable development in South Africa will analyse the negotiations, the highlight being an Earth Summit Debate. Other programmes revolving around the environmental theme include 'State of the Planet'. Presented by David Attenborough, the three part series commences in mid August and examines the future of mankind. Film star Jackie Chan appears in Chasing the Tiger, while host Julian Pettifer looks at the condition of wild tigers and what the action star is doing to protect them. In the last week of August, Natures Numbers follows biologists in the Bolovian rainforest who try to find which species are in immediate danger of extinction.

On a different track, bookworms can savour eight programmes in Great Writers Season next month. Writers profiled include Frankenstein writer Mary Shelley in the episode A Monstrous Life, children's author Lewis Carroll in Curiouser and curiouser and mystery novelist Iris Murdoch in Starnge Love.

For those wanting a dose of harsh reality instead of Alice in Wonderland, the channel will air the documentary Breaking the Silence- Music in Afghanistan in August. It tells the tale of how Afghan music was devastated during 20 years of war. It sees how the first signs of revival of music started a few weeks after the Taliban government was given the boot.

In September, the channel targets the marketing and ad community with the programming block 'Branded' which examines the consumer world. The three part show The Ad Factor follows the journey of creating an ad from pitching to roll out of the final product. Logo takes viewers on the journey of how brands influence society and culture.

In the lifestyle programming section, the channel will unveil ' The Bike's The Star' next month. It takes a look at classic motor bikes. Mary Anne Hobbs hosts Mary Anne's Bikes in August, which scrutinises all aspects of biker culture.