Cape Town - South African millionaire Mr Mark Shuttleworth has confirmed that he is undergoing training in Russia to become the next paying space tourist.
The Cape Times newspaper quoted Mr Shuttleworth as saying he began "intense" training at the Star City astronautical centre outside Moscow on Tuesday in a bid to be selected for a trip into space.
Mr Shuttleworth said space travel had been a childhood dream. If he makes the trip he will follow in the footsteps of American millionaire Mr Dennis Tito, who became the first paying space tourist in April. He paid $20 million dollars for the eight-day trip that angered US space agency NASA because, they claimed, it could endanger the lives of the crew.
Mr Shuttleworth declined to say how much he was expecting to pay for the trip but claimed that it would stimulate interest in science in South Africa.