Former top Microsoft developer Charles Simonyi is planning a trip to the International Space Station aboard a Russian rocket, according to the RIA news agency. It would make him the world's fifth space tourist.

A Russian space program spokesman said: "A preliminary contract with Simonyi has been concluded for spring 2007."

Hungarian-born Simonyi has done very nicely, thank you, out of his work at Microsoft overseeing their applications development, and latterly founded business specialist Intentional Software.

He has become something of a philanthropist, funding Richard Dawkins' contoversial Public Understanding of Science Chair at Oxford University. It's reported Charlie's space adventures will set him back a cool $20m.®

Related stories

• Word and Excel creator: How Gates, Jobs and HAL shaped Office (28 November 2011)
• Russian bear plots Mars mission (12 April 2006)
• TechScape Russian laser chap lights up US (31 March 2006)
• NASA probes underwater operations (30 March 2006)
• First Brazilian cosmonaut makes World Cup boast (29 March 2006)
• Space tourism rockets (29 March 2006)
• PayPal founder's private rocket burns, then crashes (27 March 2006)
• Fore-get space exploration (1 March 2006)