ARMANI is the latest in a long line of luxury brands to be embracing the lure of web: this week the man with a penchant for black announced that he is opening a cyberspace store in Second Life, the online world for geeks and gamers. Spending real money in Second Life on virtual products and services may not appeal to everyone. Fortunately, however, there are plenty of real world websites that can feed your need for property luxe:

To track the movements of chairmen and celebrities in the upper echelons of the US property market, turn to the Illinois property blog of Berg Properties: www.bergproperties.com/blog/

If indecision over where to buy a second home has prevented you from buying at all, why not consider investing in a bolthole on a cruise liner? You’ll need seven-figure sums for a place on the Four Seasons Ocean Residences, which launched this year (www.fourseasons.com/oceanresidences ), but a new (less expensive) river ship is being built in the States: prices start at $161,000 at www.rivercitiescondos.com

From berths to entire countries: Russian developers have just outlined plans to built a 350-hectare artificial island in the shape of Russia in the Black Sea. To learn more about plans for the creation of “Federation Island”, Go to: www.luxist.com/2007/09/23/russia-the-island lucia.adams@timesonline.co.uk

Take a video tour of the most expensive property in Britain at: timesonline.co.uk/luxuryproperty

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