Hi guys, I am looking at doing a lot of international traveling for a travel series. And I want a GPS system that will be chockful of features, radio capability, and ofcourse a precision and highly sensitive GPS device. I looked at a couple of Garmins like the Rino, etc. and no where was it clear that it'll be a device that'll work internationally... Now I know GPS is global obviously, but will this system come with the 'maps' needed for international or do I have to pay to download them,... or?

Any advice appreciated!

yes , usually GPS do not have the memory to store all the maps from the world.
So , when you buy a GPS , it should come with your country, or continent.
Sometime there si a CD that allows you to add some countries and sometime you can download the map you need. No need to say it is not free most of time.
in europe, GPS come with the local map at hi-res, then country next to yours with general map. If you need the street map level detail, you can add them to the GPS.
Depending model, you need to load the map to memory from a PC, or can swap maps using a memory card (SD card most of the time).
Another thing is to rent a car with the GPS, so you do not need to worry about.
Or you can use a laptop with Global map, so you never need to unload, reload another map.