<i>Clown takes giant leap into space </i>

The billionaire founder of the Cirque du Soleil show Wednesday blasted off on a Russian rocket to bring his trademark humour and acrobatic energy into the ultra-serious world of space flight.
Guy Laliberte, 50, a Canadian citizen, had spent millions from a personal fortune on his two-week visit to the International Space Station (ISS) but he could be the last such "space tourist" for several years.
He blasted off on schedule from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome, located in neighbouring Kazakhstan, at 0714 GMT alongside a professional Russian cosmonaut and US astronaut.
Television pictures showed the three crew members waving at mission control from the cockpit of the Soyuz spacecraft as it headed into orbit with a toy lion-mascot dangling from the ceiling.
"All the work on the launch pad has been carried out according to plan. I wish you success and thank you for the good preparation," said the head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, Anatoly Perminov, as he bade farewell.

Laliberte, a former fire-eater and stiltwalker, is taking nine red clown noses into space -- one for each member of the ISS crew -- and has said he will not abandon his lighter side once the mission starts.
"I am going with my sense of humour. Even in serious things you need to leave a place for humour," said the Quebec City native ahead of the mission.
Laliberte is planning on October 9 to preside from the ISS over what he has called the first ever artistic mission from space which will take place in a dozen cities around the world and involve music, dancing and images.
The event will be based on a poetic tale imagined by Laliberte and written by the Canadian author Yann Martel, who wrote the Booker Prize-winning novel "Life of Pi".
Laliberte says his mission has a serious aim -- to raise awareness of global water shortages worldwide and of his foundation that works to preserve the earth's freshwater reserves.
Despite saying he was initially in bad shape, Laliberte embraced his weeks of training with enthusiasm. But he also admitted he had little patience for the intricacies of learning Russian.
"Guy will now have two weeks to study Russian in orbit," quipped Perminov, after Laliberte managed only to say "thank you" in Russian as he said goodbye to the Roskosmos team ahead of lift-off.
The circus founder, the seventh person to go into space as a tourist, could be the last for some time as seats will be limited aboard the Soyuz craft once Nasa takes its shuttles out of service from 2010.
Laliberte is travelling with US astronaut Jeffrey Williams, a veteran of two space flights, and Russia's Maxim Surayev, a member of Russia's space team for a decade who will also be undertaking his maiden flight.
Surayev, who will be leaving two young daughters behind on earth, gave no hint of pre-flight nerves, saying the crew had slept "like children."
When they dock with the ISS, the station's crew will increase to nine before Laliberte returns to Earth in a fortnight with Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and Michael Barrett of the United States.
Laliberte has not disclosed how much he paid for the trip, although the last space tourist, US software pioneer Charles Simonyi, paid 35 million dollars (28 million euros) for the privilege.
Laliberte began his rise to become the world's 261st richest man, with a personal fortune valued at 2.5 billion dollars according to Forbes magazine, as a ragtag street performer in his native Quebec.
The Cirque du Soleil, which he founded in 1984, fuses bold acrobatics with haunting music and has been seen by more than 80 million visitors under roving big tops or specially-built facilities. Nineteen shows are currently touring.