These days, many people have less time for traveling and it doesn't help that it is also expensive.

Paying for flights or train or bus fare is expensive enough. Renting a motel room every night just adds to the cost.

The founders of the nonprofit Web site CouchSurfing.org seek to help by "making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit," according to the site.

CouchSurfing.org is an international network between people and places with the goal of interacting with different cultures, raising collective consciousness and spreading tolerance.

The site works simply: After signing up for free, you are able to search people's profiles and find couches all over the world. To become a verified member and enlarge the network's safety and security, a one-time fee is charged depending on the user's country. The fee for U.S. citizens is $25.

Well, there are couches almost all over the world.

Most members come from countries that are popular travel destinations, such as the United States, Australia and several countries in Europe. But there are couches waiting to be used in many other countries, such as Barbados, as well as in Namibia and Nepal. There is even one member from Vatican City registered.

After finding members from your favored city, you can screen their profiles, including their comments reviewing the respective members as couch surfers or hosts. You can also watch the photos of all members, read their personal descriptions, get to know their couch-surfing experiences and find possible matches regarding music, sports or other leisure activities.

Eventually, you are able to write to them via CouchSurfing.org, asking them whether their couches are free in your planned period to be used by you. After staying on someone else's couch, you can return the hospitality by allowing others to use yours if requested.

The CouchSurfing.org site also allows users to join certain interest groups, to look up events in many cities posted by other members and to stay in contact with your friends.

You may start out joining CouchSurfing.org to find a bed on which to rest during your travels, but you might eventually find new friends from all over the world and share your thoughts and experiences with them and have a good time doing it.