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Anxious to put itself on the world map, the Ruritanian statelet of Liechtenstein has hatched an extraordinary plan: it is putting itself up for rent. The tiny country, famous mainly for not being famous and for allegedly sheltering the tainted millions of drug barons and dictators the world over, is about to metamorphose into one giant corporate hospitality centre.
In what is thought to be the world's first rent-a-state scheme, the tiny principality is to offer itself for hire by multinationals for conferences, celebrations and even office parties.
Not that, as a country, it amounts to very much. Squeezed between Switzerland and Austria, the landlocked state has a mere 33,000 inhabitants and covers just 60 square miles. It is, in effect, 11 villages.
But for a fee of up to £320 per person per day, a multinational can have it all: the scenic Alpine backdrop, accommodating tourist officials, and the adrenaline rush of symbolically taking over an entire state.
At the top rate, a four-day conference for 900 delegates (the maximum that can be accommodated) would cost £1.2m. The facilities are, however, far from conventional.
Corporate clients can "brand" the entire state with their logo, emblazoning it on prominent buildings. Arrangements can also be made for the discerning multinational to have access to the national art gallery and theatre, the royal family's wine cellar, and at least one of Liechtenstein's fairytale castles - the 13th-century Schloss Gutenberg.
Seated in his office below the mist-covered Alps and the royal family's mountaintop castle, Roland Büchel, the director of Liechtenstein's tourist board, is enthusiastic. "I think it's unique," he says. "There have been rent-a-village schemes before, but not rent-a-country ones."
Karl Schwärzler, the director of the company behind the concept, Xnet, says that Liechtenstein already has at least one taker for the scheme, but he refuses to name names.
Xnet specialises in giving companies something different for their money, and has already organised at least 25 rent-a-village schemes in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Liechtenstein's case, he believes the potential is enormous.
"We can use the wine cellar of the prince, have a medieval feast at a castle, or even have a meeting among Rembrandts and other famous paintings in the national art museum. We can organise the official handing over of the city's key, and all kinds of other things," he says.
Not everyone is happy though. "Locals are sceptical," concedes Mr Schwärzler. "They worry that it will send a message that you can buy anything for money. They worry about what people will do here, and that they will interfere with their daily lives. 'Who's going to rent me? I'm not up for rent,' is the typical attitude. But we're not asking people to sell their souls, we just want to do business."
Business is what Liechtenstein does best, although its tourist industry seems lacklustre.
The streets of Vaduz, the principality's capital (population 5,000), are all but deserted on a weekday. One coachload of Japanese tourists arrives each day but they don't stay for long - an hour and a half at most, and they seem to bring their own sandwiches.
The town's swanky boutiques - stuffed with Rolex watches, designer clothes and expensive home furnishings - are also eerily quiet.
Tax avoidance
By contrast, the town's financial industry appears to be booming. Banks specialising in tax avoidance hide behind anonymous, concrete, modernist facades. Tax rates here are so low that 80,000 so-called "mailbox companies" have nominally opened offices here. The authorities are said to be considering doing away with tax altogether.
Mr Schwärzler believes that the rent-a-state scheme could be a tonic for Liechtenstein's rather sleazy yet dull image.
"People here are sensitive, but this will be good for the country," he says. "It has an image of banks and 'special' finance houses, but this will allow people to see a different side of Liechtenstein.
"There's a need to show the world that there are other things apart from mailboxes."
People on the streets of Vaduz are bemused by the idea of hiring out the entire country to multinationals.
"It's a funny thing," says Jeppe Weinreich, a Danish waiter and one of the many seasonal workers who flock to the principality.
"But this is a strange country. There are only 324 unemployed people; it can fit into the territory of Luxembourg 12 times over; you can see the whole country in two hours, and the local prison can only hold 20 prisoners.
"So why not rent it out? It's a bit boring, but it's not dangerous to walk the streets at night - and it's rich," adds Mr Weinreich. "Seasonal workers in other countries come from places like Albania, but here they come from Scandinavia."
Even so, not everything or everyone will be for hire under Liechtenstein's new venture. The services of the country's reigning monarch, Prince Hans-Adam II, cannot be purchased.
Not that he lacks a mercantile instinct himself. Furious that the country's politicians are reluctant to give him more power, he is threatening to sell the royal castle to the Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates - or anyone else who will buy it - and move to Vienna.
• Appreciable assets
· Liechtenstein is frequently accused of money laundering. Among those who are alleged to have used its banking services were the late Colombian drugs kingpin, Pablo Escobar; the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic; former dictators including Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire and Sani Abacha of Nigeria; and unnamed Islamist terrorists
· German is the official language but Liechtensteiners use a dialect called Alemannic. The official currency is the Swiss franc. Four-fifths of Liechtensteiners are of German origin and the majority of the population is Catholic
· Liechtenstein has been a sovereign state since 1806. It was neutral in both world wars and has no army. Switzerland is responsible for its defence
· The parliament has 25 MPs drawn from three political parties. Women have been eligible to vote only since 1984
· Liechtenstein is not a member of the EU, but it does belong to the United Nations and Interpol, and, together with Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, makes up the European Free Trade Area
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