To try and meet the growing appetite for space travel, Russian scientists were looking at a cheaper solution -- a sort of fast-space option, he said.

"We have a waiting list for those wishing to fly to the ISS (International Space Station). All the seats have been booked up until 2009," Perminov was quoted as telling the daily newspaper Troud on the space agency's official website.

So Russian firm Miassishchev currently was looking at developing sub-orbital vessels offering tourists a cut-price flight, far cheaper though far shorter than spending time on the ISS.

"Tourists would not be able to orbit around the earth but could stay in space for several minutes" on such vessels, he said.

Against payment of more than 20 million dollars apiece, Russia has already sent four tourists on around 10-day space cruises to the ISS aboard its Soyuz craft.

Last September, Iranian-born US telecoms billionaire Anousheh Ansari, became the world's first female space tourist.

"I enjoyed this trip so much that I will grab any chance I get to do the flight again, whether it is to the ISS (International Space Station) or flying to space through other means," she said after touching down in the steppes of Kazakhstan.

The first to try out an odyssey in space was Dennis Tito of the United States in 2001, followed by South African Mark Shuttleworth in 2002 and American Greg Olsen in 2005.

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