You might think that buying a piece of land for someone is a bit excessive. But it doesn't need to cost you the earth, especially if you're buying property on the moon. In the words of the vendors, "it is probably the most romantic and original present you could ever give to a loved one". So in response to a request from a site visitor, and with half an eye on our Christmas present list, we've done a little homework about the loony concept of laying claim to lunar land.

Where else could somebody make a business from selling the rights to property that is nearly 250,000 miles away? A certain Mr. D. Hope, who likes to be called 'The Big Cheese' has been running a company called The Moonshop (Visit now) out of California for nearly twenty years. And believe it or not, it has been doing rather well. The Moonshop has done astronomically good trade over the Internet in recent years - if their claims are to be believed then they already have over 10,000 customers worldwide. They even post this picture showing the plots of land that have already been sold:

It won't set you back as much as you might think. The cost is a mere $15.99 plus a shipping charge of $10, and how could we possibly overlook the rather intriguing lunar tax of $1.16. They've not even settled there yet and already they're charging taxes!

You get a plot of land that for some reason has been called a Serca. Each one comes with a lovely view of planet Earth, with a good chance that your plot overlooks a crater, though this is expressly not guaranteed.

The Moonshop has divided the earth-facing side of the moon into over 3,000,000 of them. This may sound a lot, but your plot of land is not small. It's certainly big enough so that your neighbours won't disturb you. Of course being disturbed by your neighbours is unlikely when you live in space, since sound cannot travel through a vacuum.

But that's not all you get.Lucky customers also become the proud owners of:

• A Lunar Constitution Bill of Rights (a blank sheet of paper?)
  
  
• A Lunar Deed (a worthless piece of paper?)
  
  
• A Lunar Sight Map (another piece of paper!)

All of the documents are printed on simulation parchment paper, which is apparently suitable for framing. Though do prepared to be ridiculed by everybody who ever visits your house if you are brave enough to put the framed documents on the wall. You also get a bonus short story and best of all, there's a strict no-argument 30 day money back guarantee policy. If as is likely, the novelty wears off rather quickly, or you sober up within that timeframe, you can get your money back.

Believe it or not, with regard to extraterrestrial property sales, two treaties actually exist today: The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and the Moon Treaty of 1984.

• The Outer Space Treaty
  The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which was ratified by the United Nations, clearly states that the Moon and the other celestial bodies are the heritage of all mankind for the purposes of exploration. What this means is man can explore any piece of land on the moon or any other planetary body. So there is no trespass law in space, as long as you are just having a look round. However the treaty was hastily drawn up and left a lot of gaps, which the Moon Treaty attempted to fill.
  
  
• The Moon Treaty
  According to the Moon treaty, individuals may not claim the Moon and other celestial bodies or exploit them for profit motives. It also declares that any benefits derived from the exploitation of the moon's natural resources will be shared, "whereby the interests and needs of the developing countries, as well as the efforts of those countries which have contributed either directly or indirectly to the exploration of the moon, shall be given special consideration."
  
  This would appear to be a pretty clear objection to the possibility of buying rights to a piece of land on the moon. However, out of all the member states of the UN only six states supported it. It was not ratified by any of the spacefaring nations including the Britain, USA, Russia, France and China.

Everyone and no one. It seems that the only piece of law that is certain to apply is the Outer Space treaty, which guarantees exploratory rights for all mankind. Obviously though, not all mankind can really afford to take a trip to the moon to go on a rambling expedition. But if you wanted to, you would have strong legal grounds.

However, the proprietor of The Moonshop claims to have gone through all of the normal legal procedures that apply to making a claim for new land. He first made a claim at his local government office for the entire surface of the moon and other planets in the solar system. He then informed the General Assembly of the United Nations, foreign governments and even the US Copyright registry office. After all, since the Americans were the first nation to set foot on the moon, their legal framework is probably the best place to start.

Well, if you want to buy a present for a (big) child who's keen on astronomy or science fiction, you could probably find worse presents. The total cost comes to less than twenty quid, so it is hardly going to break the bank.

As an investment, it would have to be launched right up into the extremely high-risk category. No one knows for sure whether mankind will ever find enough reason to settle on the moon, let alone in our lifetime.

If we do, would you really own the land rights to your Serca? This is extremely unlikely. Big corporations, international space agencies, governments and the United Nations would probably all have something to say about any claim to ownership of the moon's surface if push ever came to shove. But if there really are tens of thousands of lunar prospectors already living on this earth, it is just possible that together you may have a case. Honest. In the words of Phineas Taylor Barnum, "There's a sucker born every minute."