SIR RICHARD BRANSON has done just about everything to promote his products - ballooning, jumping off buildings, dressing up as a woman - but he's never been shot before. Until now.

....After India, Branson is moving on to Australia. Later this year he will launch V, an airline that will fly between Sydney and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, linking with existing Virgin Atlantic services.

Once “the bloodbath of excess capacity” is over, an Indian airline is planned. Branson wants to launch a carrier in China, too, to break his string of bad luck there. His attempts to set up a mobile-phone business in the world’s biggest retail market collapsed last year, costing him millions and denting his image.

....Branson already uses Virgin Atlantic to drive customers to his mobile and credit-card companies. Now he wants to use the airline to fill a new range of Virgin hotels. The first will be in New York, London, Los Angeles and Atlanta. If they prove a success, India, China and Saudi Arabia will follow.

Virgin Hotels will be based on the Clubhouse, Virgin’s premium passenger lounge at Heathrow airport, which was developed with restaurateurs and hoteliers, notably Nick Jones, creator of Soho House.

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