It is all set to be the thrill of a lifetime. A group of intrepid adventurers, having fought off dozens of other hopefuls, will head into space for a five-day voyage, to be watched and envied by millions. Except they won't.

{a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2005/051114/full/051114-14.html"} Space Cadets, {/a} which hits British television screens next month, is the latest ambitious experiment in 'reality TV'. The show's organizers have rigged a Hollywood space-shuttle set with all the sights, sounds and shakes of a genuine space flight. But, unbeknownst to the participants, the craft will never leave the ground.

In attempting this {b}mother of all practical jokes, {/b}the production team has equipped its 'spacecraft' with surround-sound speakers that play a soundtrack of whooshing and humming engine noises, and a hydraulic platform providing realistic jolts and shudders.

The craft's interior, modified from the set used by Clint Eastwood in Space Cowboys, will feature windows that give super-high-resolution images of Earth, including a simulated hurricane over Mexico. (Hopefully none of the adventurers will remember that the Atlantic hurricane season usually ends in November.)

The show's success will depend in part on finding volunteers with the right psychological make-up. From a hundred hopefuls, the final handful of candidates were picked for their 'suggestibility'
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Gosh, any suggestible folks come to mind?

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"Being revealed to millions of people as an absolute chump could have a big effect on someone. Your friends, your closest support network, may be tempted to laugh at you for the rest of your life."

-p (this thrifty Scot would pay major bucks to see this)