Project manager Dobie Chow thought there was no reason why potential buyers might be puzzled by the name's close affinity with the ''final frontier''.

He said: ''It is the outlook which is space-like. We are not saying it is the kind of house you would expect to see up on the moon.'' Mr Chow explained that the homes were not designed to attract customers from the areas they were modelled on.

Rather, they gave buyers a wide range of styles of homes within one development.

''It is a space-age kind of outlook,'' he added.

''This kind of design gives a fuller, more favourable and more flexible diversification in terms of giving a large choice for the buyer.

''It is a marketing strategy so the buyer can have, say, an American or a European-style villa if he wants.'' Prices for the zones range from $3 million to $10 million.

Mr Chow said the Space Zone villas were ''technological''.

Alex Wong, L & D general manager, called the homes ''super modern''.

Mr Chow said tiles and stainless steel were being used on the exterior.

''We are not using fibre-glass or things like that,'' he said.

''Inside, it looks like any of the other villas.'' The marketing for the second phase of the four-stage project has just begun.

Rose Garden is located in Changping, a Beijing suburb and tourist destination, covering 330,000 square metres.

When the building work is completed late next year, there will be 772 homes - ranging from 2,501 square feet to 5,990 sq ft - on the site.

It is a joint venture between China Feida (Holdings) and the Changping government.

L & D has an agreement with the developer that any profits, where the selling price is above the agreed level, will be shared.

Mr Wong said around 200 homes had been sold so far.

The measures taken by the Chinese central government to control the economy would not affect sales, he said.

L & D, according to its own publicity, is the ''Global Sole Agent''.