TomTom is offering five groups of up to five people the chance to spend two weeks on a tropical island and get £10,000 in return.

The idea is that the families or groups of friends will spend their time mapping the island and while no prior cartographic experience is required, TomTom does suggest that a god sense of direction might come in handy. Presumably a sat-nav device won’t be much use…

Anyone who’s interested in the working holiday of a lifetime just needs to fill in a form at www.tomtom.com/summer and explain why they would be the perfect people to map a tropical island.

Successful applicants, once of whom must be able to drive, will then be shipped off on all all-expenses-paid trip to Fiji, St. Lucia, Mauritius, Cape Verde or the Seychelles for a fortnight this summer — and then be paid £10,000 when they return.

The only requirement will be to spend some time driving a TomTom mapping car around the place, which presumably won’t occupy every waking moment of the two-week venture.

“The very first step in creating an accurate map is proper field work, and that is where the Map Paradise Project comes in,” said Corinne Vigreux, managing director, TomTom. “This project will not only create five new navigable maps, it will also give people a unique insight into how our maps are made. And where better to start mapping, than on a beautiful paradise island.”

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