It hasn't been a classic year for Microsoft between Vista delays, EU Competition Commissioners, IE megabugs and Google's relentless march (latest Stateside figures, for February, show Google's search traffic share climbing 6% to 42.3%; Microsoft fell 3% to 13.5%).

Stressful stuff. Personally, during stressful moments I tend to day-dream, which often involves bad sci-fi fantasies. But when you're a Microsoft billionaire, you don't just dream it, you do it. Thus founding Microsoftie Charles Simonyi is set to leave Earthly cares behind altogether and join the select band of space tourists.

Simonyi has ponied up US$20 million to Space Adventures for a seat on a Russian Soyuz craft that will take him to the International Space Station some time during September. The software entrepreneur, who joined Microsoft in 1981 and left in 2002 (whereupon Bill Gates took over his role as chief technology officer) will become only the fifth private citizen to holiday in space, following previous jaunts by Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth and Greg Olsen, and an the upcoming lift-off of Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto.