Owen gets ready to rule the Palm Jumeirah

Having spent most of the season receiving treatment for his injured leg, I am delighted to report that England and Newcastle soccer superstar Michael Owen is on the move again - though not on the soccer pitch.

I bumped into the living legend at Dubai's Barasti Bar last Saturday, and he was on top form - well enough to even try out a couple of moves on the dance floor. Owen tells me he is now a regular visitor to Dubai, having snapped up one of the homes on the Palm Jumeirah.

"It's great to be here and it's my first home in Dubai. I have a feeling I might be buying some more," he says.

This should be great news for developer Nakheel. Owen fans will know that after making millions when he played for Liverpool in the nineties, he bought an entire street of houses in the city and gave all the homes to members of his family. Even the street was renamed "Michael Owen."

Can we expect the same on the Palm? "Well, it cost around US$400,000 for the street in Liverpool. I think the price may be a little above my range in Dubai," he says.

Emirates fights back against Virgin

The competition between Virgin Atlantic and Emirates Airline just keeps hotting up. I revealed two weeks ago that Virgin may be doubling the number of flights between London and Dubai. Well, not to be outdone, Emirates is thought to be planning a summer sale on its flights, with prices on some dates down by as much as 40%.

A source says: "We have spent the past year avoiding getting into a price war, but like all these things, it usually happens in the end."

That sounds like good news to me.

Button gets ready to party

Talking of celebrities, next Sunday is the Bahrain Grand Prix, as featured elsewhere in this magazine. And once again, keep your eye out in Dubai for the Formula One superstars, many of whom will fly straight to Dubai from Malaysia after today's race, to spend a couple of days in the emirate before heading off to Bahrain. My spies tell me that Honda star Jenson Button and McLaren's Fernando Alonso will be two of the drivers certain to be here.

Where to find them is another matter. Having met both before, I suspect Alonso will be relaxing by the beach at the Royal Mirage, while Button will spend most of his two days at Dubai's Trilogy nightclub.

I'm the one who got it wrong

Looks like I owe my good friend Thomas Lundgren an apology. Last week I reported that the brilliant founder of The One was thinking of floating his empire, and that a few banks were lining up to offer their services. Turns out I got this horribly wrong. Thomas' people assure me that the empire is doing great, with absolutely no need for outside financing.

I feel a complete fool. Sorry pal!

Twice as big and twice as good

So successful has Ski Dubai been, that I hear plans are underway for Ski Dubai 2. The groundbreaking first venture in Dubai's Mall of the Emirates has gone down a storm with tourists and locals alike, and my spies tell me that developers are now considering building a top-class dedicated ski centre just outside Dubai, which will be at least three times the size of the original Ski Dubai.

Full details are yet to be unveiled but I hear that this is a serious project that will run into several hundred million dollars.

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