Famously cautious with his cash, rock legend Rod Stewart is apparently being tempted to fish out his chequebook for a sizeable and unusual investment – an island shaped like the UK.
The singer is thought to be among potential buyers of property in "The World", a £1-billion cluster of 220 islands, each in the form of a country, located five kilometres off the coast of Dubai. The nine-kilometre-long offshore land development, strategically arranged to look like a map of the globe when viewed from above, is set to open in 2008.
Rod and his girlfriend, model Penny Lancaster, are apparently interested in the £18-million mass of land representing England, Scotland and Wales. The Great Britain piece of the development is one of the most expensive, with prices topping out at £20 million for a replica of Spain.
The development is the brainchild of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a member of the United Arab Emirates' royal family. The World joins the growing list of the mogul's ventures, which also include the Palm Jumeirah, a man-made tropical island off Dubai shaped like a palm leaf, which boasts a number of celebrity property owners.
Photo: Alphapress.com
