No space left at E$1m inn

10.08.29: FIFTY-THREE lucky individuals have paid E$1m each for the opportunity to spend a week at the Motorola-Alcatel Sky Bridge Hotel in low Earth orbit.

"Sipping cocktails on the glass observation deck while the continents sailed by under our feet was simply serene," says 78-year-old Augusta "Gus" Rothschild of Yorktown Heights, New York. "I've already booked for another vacation next year - I can hardly wait!" Motorola-Alcatel, which has plans to build a "constellation" of other orbital hotels, says its waiting list runs to 42,000 people. "Every one of them has shelled out a E$50,000 deposit," says Dirk Barnum of Motorola-Alcatel. "We see space tourism as a big growth industry." MC