the signing of a lease allowing a corporation to put the Russian Mir space station to commercial use.

RKK Energia, the privatised Russian company that built and operates the station, signed an agreement granting Amsterdam-based (previously reported as Bermuda-based) MirCorp rights for commercial use for the rest of the space platform's life.

Ownership of the station remains with the Russian government, and Energia will still operate it. Describing the agreement as a "milestone in humanity's path to the stars'' that will change the way people think about space and use it, the leaders of MirCorp said the space station is operational today -- despite needing renovation -- and that clients could theoretically hitch a ride on the next flight.

Adventurous tourists who are both wealthy and healthy and have the time to train for the trip could travel to Mir with MirCorp, but that would not be the focus of the business, the company said.

MirCorp said its main goal is to open Mir to clients such as drug companies or metals businesses looking to use the micro-gravity conditions in space to learn how to perfect their products on Earth.

The platform also could be used as a base for repairing space satellites and beaming live colour images of the Earth to the Internet.

For those willing to pay to go as tourists, the main impediment is the training required to prepare for life in space, MirCorp president Jeffrey Manber said.

"Space is something serious. It's not just a walk outside,'' added Yuri Semenov, chairman of MirCorp and general designer and president of Energia.

Potential space tourists must be mentally, physically and psychologically fit enough to cope with the experience, Semenov said, adding, "There are certain rules that cannot be overstepped.'' As for the potential price of a Mir trip, Manber said only that it would be "whatever the market will bear''. The amount MirCorp paid for the commercial rights was not disclosed, but Manber previously has said it was between $10 and $20 million.