New snowdome for Manchester

Work has begun on the new Chill Factore snowdome in Manchester, which is due to open in October 2007.

The new dome will be next to the Trafford shopping centre and will include three interconnecting slopes of varying difficulties. The combined slope length will be 180m (the longest in the country), with a vertical drop of 40m.

According to the Chill Factore website, this will be "a place where active lifestyle shops, themed bars and contemporary restaurants create an authentic alpine village".

I wonder if they'll have a few bell-wearing goats and sheep roaming the slopes in that case.

Serbia to open new ski resort

New lifts and runs are going to be constructed on Stara Mountain in Serbia, as part of the government's €50 million National Investment Plan.

Stara is one of 20 basic ski hills which operated for decades before the Balkan War, but will now be converted into an international ski destination.

Kopaonik ski area has already been reintroduced to the international market and has expanded successfully.

The first development at Stara will be the installation of two chairlifts.

Snowdomes in the sand

Not to be outdone by Ski Dubai, Abu Dhabi's Snoworld is due to open later this year, complete with ski slope, ice rink and shopping mall.

Snoworld will be part of the Marina Mall, one of the world's biggest malls, with 900,000 visitors each month.

Meanwhile Saudi Arabia is looking for a piece of the snow action and is examining the feasibility of constructing a Ski Trac, a rotating ski slope.

Back in Britain, plans for SnOasis in Suffolk, which would be the world's biggest indoor ski slope, have been put on hold by Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. A public enquiry into the planning application could take up to two years.