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Generating power from the sun & wind this luxury man-made floating island for the super rich can be towed anywhere its owner wants to live.

Photo above and below of a virtual image of the new man-made island that an Austrian firm has come up with that it hopes is the next big thing for the mega-rich: a man-made, floating "island" with a list price of 5.2 million euros ($6.5 million) (See more photos plus story here and also Google Images)

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Man-made, floating island goes on sale

25/06/2012
AFP News agency
Agence France-Presse

An Austrian firm has come up what it hopes is the next big thing for the mega-rich: a man-made, floating "island" with a list price of 5.2 million euros ($6.5 million), the company's founder told AFP Monday.

Measuring 20 by 37 metres (66 by 121 feet), the "Orsos Island" has no engine but can be anchored anywhere its owners choose and then towed to another location the other side of the world if they so wish, Hungarian-born Gabor Orsos said.

"The interest has been massive from all over the world, from Australia, China, the United States. We have already had the first pre-orders and we have some potential buyers coming from Australia next week," the entrepreneur said

The island is environmentally friendly and fully self-sufficient, with solar panels and wind generators providing power. It can sleep 12 people plus crew and offers 1,000 square metres of living space.

The only problem is that no "islands" have been produced yet and that once manufacturing starts it will initially be in land-locked Slovakia.

But Orsos expects the first finished products to be ready in 18 months' to two years' time, and for the "islands" to be transported down the Danube river into the Black Sea -- and then to wherever the customer wants.

(Source: Bangkok Post, World, Man-made, floating island goes on sale, 25/06/2012, AFP News agency, Agence France-Presse, link) 


Toys of the Super Rich Vocabulary

mega - very much of something (very many, very big, etc)
mega-rich - very very rich; extremely rich

image - any picture, especially one formed by a mirror or a lens ภาพ
virtual image - a picture that looks like the real thing but is not the real thing

man-made - made by people, not made by nature as are mountains trees, the ocean, animals and plants, etc
man-made island - a new trend of large places for people to live on the water that is bigger than a houseboat or a yacht (See Wikipedia and read article)

artificial - same as "man-made" (made by people not natural)
artificial island

floating - being on top of the water as a boat  is (not "sinking" and going under the water)
floating island

yacht - a large expensive boat used for recreation, sailing or racing (See Wikipedia)
luxury yacht - very expensive and very large yachts with many crew owned by the super rich (See Wikipedia)

houseboat - a house on water, usually located at one place and not moving around a lot (See Wikipedia)

go on sale - when a company starts selling its product to customers

Man-made, floating island goes on sale

firm - a business or company บริษัท
an Austrian firm

come up with ...  - create something new (using their imagination and ideas) ...

the next big thing - the newest thing that everyone likes; something new that is very popular; the latest fad or trend (See Wikipedia)

list price - the advertised or published price for something (especially a car)

founder - a person who establishes an institution, business, or organization ผู้ก่อตั้ง
company's founder

An Austrian firm has come up with what it hopes is the next big thing for the mega-rich: a man-made, floating "island" with a list price of 5.2 million euros ($6.5 million), the company's founder told AFP Monday.

anchor -  dropping a heavy object tied to a boat into the water (called an "anchor") to stop the boat from moving  
tow - to pull something behind (example: the tugboat towed the big ship, the car towed a trailer behind it, the tow truck towed an illegally parked car away)

Measuring 20 by 37 metres (66 by 121 feet), the "Orsos Island" has no engine but can be anchored anywhere its owners choose and then towed to another location the other side of the world if they so wish, Hungarian-born Gabor Orsos said.

massive - very large in size, amount or numberใหญ่โต มหาศาล
massive interest - large numbers of people interested

pre - before
pre-orders - customers who are waiting to order some product that is not available yet (so cannot order it yet)

potential - possible ที่เป็นไปได้ ที่มีศักยภาพ
potential buyers - people who might buy a product

entrepreneur - someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves risks นักลงทุนทางการเงิน

"The interest has been massive from all over the world, from Australia, China, the United States. We have already had the first pre-orders and we have some potential buyers coming from Australia next week," the entrepreneur said

environmentally friendly - doesn't cause pollution (air, water, sound, etc) or hurt nature

sufficient - enough พอเพียง
self-sufficient - has enough inside or by itself (so doesn't need anything from the outside)
fully self-sufficient

solar - involving the sun เกี่ยวกับดวงอาทิตย์
solar panels - a flat panel that is placed outside under the sun and turns the light of the sun into electricity (See Wikipedia)

wind generators - a machines used to make (generate) electricity from wind (See Wikipedia)

power - energy in the form of electricity produced in large quantities and used to operate lights, machines, and heating
wind generators providing power

crew - the people who work on a ship, aircraft, etc. ลูกเรือ
it can sleep 12 people plus crew

The island is environmentally friendly and fully self-sufficient, with solar panels and wind generators providing power. It can sleep 12 people plus crew and offers 1,000 square metres of living space.

initially - at first; at the beginning ในเบื้องต้น

landlocked - not touching the sea or ocean, not having a coastline or beaches
landlocked country - a country that does not have a border with the sea or ocean

The only problem is that no "islands" have been produced yet and that once manufacturing starts it will initially be in land-locked Slovakia. But Orsos expects the first finished products to be ready in 18 months' to two years' time, and for the "islands" to be transported down the Danube river into the Black Sea -- and then to wherever the customer wants.