NEW ISLAND FOR RUSSIAN SUPER-RICH

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Construction will begin next year on a vast artificial luxury island off the coast of Sochi in Southern Russia.

The miniature archipelago, dubbed 'Federation Island', will be built in the Black Sea in time for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and will cost over £3bn.

It will stretch accross 350 hectares and will have several hotels, two marinas, an aqua park and grand luxury villas. Artificial rivers will also wind through the complex, designed to represent the major waterways flowing through Russia.

The island has drawn parallels with similar projects in the United Arab Emitrates - and for good reason. The same Dutch architects that worked on Palm and World Islands in Dubai have been drafted in to design the enterprise.

"Although we haven't opened sales yet, we are seeing a great deal of interest in property on the island," said a spokesperson for the developers Alexei Butsailo. "It is targeted mainly at Russians who are keen to live near the sea."

The development comes amid an economic boom in Russia, thanks to high energy prices. The country now has the second largest number of billionaires in the world - behind only the US.

Sochi is a popular seaside resort and is being given a major facelift before the 2014 winter games, with building works that stretch along the coastline. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has his summer residence just outside the city.