Branson to serve airline passengers

London: His outrageous publicity stunts have included driving a tank down New York's Fifth Avenue and flying a hot air balloon around the world.

But this latest one is sure to put a smile on his competitors' faces.

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson will dress up as an air hostess and serve passengers on rival airline AirAsia, after losing a bet with the company's owner.

The billionaire owner of the Virgin Racing Formula One team had a bet with Lotus Racing boss Tony Fernandes over whose team would finish highest in the 2010 championships.

Whoever lost the best would have to dress up as a woman and act as an air hostess, serving champagne to guests on one of the winner's flights.

Despite both teams finishing with zero points in their debut F1 seasons, Lotus finished ahead of Virgin by virtue of better finishes.

Now Sir Richard, 60, will have to don a dress and serve champagne to a selection of charity auction winners on an AirAsia flight from London to Kuala Lumpur.

Tony Fernandes, a 46-year-old Malaysian businessman who owns budget airline AirAsia, worked for Branson's Virgin Atlantic as a financial controller in the late 1980s.

"We have had this great bet running all season and now it's time for Richard to start preparing himself for some hard work and the likely pain of a pair of high heels!" Fernandes said.