Chinese company sells World Cup 2006 air in plastic bags for 6 dollars

A Chinese company that once tried to sell land on the Moon has lost an appeal against a court ruling that stopped it from selling bags of "World Cup air," state media reported Wednesday.

Xinhua News Agency said that Beijing Lunar Village Aeronautics Science and Technology Co. lost a suit against the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce, which refused its application to sell "special air from a special place."

Last December, the Chaoyang District People's Court ruled against the company's proposal to sell green plastic bags full of air from stadiums that hosted matches in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the AP reports.

Li Jie, the company's chief executive officer, had planned to sell the bags to soccer fans for 50 yuan ($6.60) each.

Xinhua said the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court ruled against the company's appeal, saying "air is too vague and unstable a concept to be covered by commercial classifications."

Li first registered his company in September 2005, offering to sell individuals ownership of an acre of lunar land for 298 yuan ($38).

But a month later the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce revoked the firm's business license on the grounds a company cannot sell things it does not own, Xinhua said.

Li sued the authority, but the suit was rejected in November 2006 by the Haidian District Court. An appeal to the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court was rejected in March.