Actually, it's for Steve Fossett's solo flight around the world
Burt Rutan is building the plane but is too busy to fly it himself (and he's a very good pilot). This plane is most interesting because of it's structural properties. It's supposed to carry up to 5 times it's empty weight in payload. Most planes have a gross takeoff weight barely twice the empty weight (and some are much worse than that).
While the plane is cool, it's not exactly 'new' news. I posted the info on it here two months ago. I'm much more interested in SpaceShipOne and even more in RASCAL.