isn't ther one who is empliyed by Orbit or Expedia(dot come)
who travels around with people?
propbably not a garden-variety gmome
because i think htey stay put more or less

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0130/p14s01-lihc.html

(www.whereismygnome.com),

oops the ad campaign was not successfull-i mis-remembered the
brand name..travelocity...

e (www.nigelthegnome.com)

(Garden Gnome Liberation Front). The French group has reportedly "liberated" more than 6,000 gnomes since 1997. Instead of sending photos, such gnomes typically turn up en masse: returning to forest life, congregating on church steps, and, once, hanging by their necks from a bridge.

http://dest.travelocity.com/Promotions/0,,TRAVELOCITY%7C1751%7Cmkt_main,00.html

On a similar note, I remember travelling with a group of
students and the teacher brought along a small stuffed toy.

she was instructed to take pictures of it and send them back
to the person who used to own the toy...it was set off to travel
around the world, and we were supposed to give it to someone
who was travelling far away so the critter could continue to
send pictures back home.