Two years ago the idea of the ResidenSea, a floating village that would sail around the world all year round was just that. An idea.

The ship had yet to be built, but UK agents FPD Savills were already taking bookings for apartments on board.

Now the idea is taking shape. The ship is under construction in Norway and almost half the 101 apartments have been sold, two of them to Irish multi-millionaires.

Charles Weston Baker of FPD Savills won't name names but says that the majority of buyers are "very wealthy people from 35 to 55, who want to enjoy a new kind of lifestyle at sea". Next week, a model of the ship will be on display in the Westbury Hotel where FPD Savills and Hamilton Osborne King will take bookings for the remaining units. These start at £1.6 million sterling. The ship is due for completion in December 2001.

Owners of the ResidenSea will enjoy a tax-free life in the Bahamas-registered liner which will be bigger than the QE2. The ship will sail from port to port, aiming to hit capital cities to coincide with big events such as the Olympic Games. The cheapest units will have 1,200 sq ft on a lower deck, while the most expensive apartments will be 3,000 sq ft units, with both port and starboard outlooks. One or two of these remain for sale, at over £6 million sterling each. The ResidenSea is the brainchild of Norwegian shipping tycoon Knut Kloster Jnr, whose father Knut Kloster pioneered the modern cruise industry in the 1960s.

ResidenSea residents will be able to run their businesses abroad from a high-tech office centre and they will also be able to accommodate staff and clients in a number of guest suites.

Otherwise, the ship will operate as a fully-fledged international village, with a shopping mall, restaurants, cinema and theatre, swimming-pools and tennis courts, casino, golf and hospital. All at an extra cost.

Owners will pay a hefty annual service charge, about four per cent of the cost of their apartment, so a modest £1.6 million sterling unit will cost £64,000 sterling a year to maintain. Comparisons to the Titanic have been made, according to ResidenSea's John Strang, who will also be in Dublin next week. "We thought the film Titanic would be a disaster for us but in fact, it created a lot more interest. People love the idea of glamorous travel and we can offer them that."