Sir Richard Branson expanded his empire yet further in 2007 when Virgin Atlantic's brand new terminal was opened by the Spice Girls. Next year will see Virgin spreading its wings yet further and a bit more noisily as the installation of Wi-fi onto Virgin Atlantic planes may mean a quiet flight becomes a thing of the past.

But it is In 2009 that sees Sir Richard Branson blasting us into space and back. All for the bargain sum of $200,000. Let's be honest, space travel seems so far fetched and ridiculous this surely must be the bargain of the century. I mean what can you actually do now for $200,000? By the time 2009 rolls around you probably won’t even be able to purchase a studio box flat in Slough (not that I personally have a problem with Slough, although it does have a rather unique odour when travelling down the M4).

The paltry sum of $200,000 buys you three days training and your trip from the Mojave Spaceport in California to orbit (and back again if your lucky); exact details are currently a little sketchy as the project is still in development.

I confidently predict space travel will bring back the golden days of air travel. I’m sure the industry will kick off with first class service, gorgeous space stewards and a distinct clientele. I wonder how long it will take before space travel heads in the same direction as the current airline industry? By 2047 surely we will have the Easy Space, the Ryan Starfleet and the Tesco Value Starburn.

It seems to me Sir Richard is set on taking over the world and perhaps this explains his recent cameo in James Bond’s Casino Royale (he can be seen walking through security as Bond is pursuing a hostile). Let’s face it Sir Richard’s empire is worthy of any Bond villain, especially now he is venturing into space. World domination is truly at this man's fingertips- in fact world domination will soon be available to us all. Flying up into space and blocking out the Earth with one hand and muttering the words ‘moo ha ha ha’; if that’s not worth the measly $200,000 I don’t know what is.