A new twist on the gangbuster show Survivor would kick people off the planet, not off an island.

Producer Mark Burnett struck a deal with Amsterdam-based MirCorp for a television series called Destination Mir that would follow more than a dozen people competing for one seat on a trip to the space station.

"Coming off the heels of such incredible success, were delighted that Mark [Burnett] chose us," said Jeff Manber, president of Mircorp, which was formed this year to transform the empty Russian space station into an orbiting business park and vacation spot.

Each week, one contestant would be disqualified by the Russian space trainers. The guest cosmonauts will undergo rigorous physical and psychological testing at the Russian training camp Star City . The winner would get a ride into orbit with two cosmonauts before docking at the Mir space station.

Burnett tried to strike a similar deal with NASA, but was turned down. Weeks later Burnett and MirCorp began discussions and entered into a partnership worth about $20 million, the price of the seat to the station.

"Its Marks job to sell the story to major networks," Manber said.

Burnett was out of town, in Borneo producing an Eco-Challenge competition for the USA cable network, and not available for comment.

The final episode of the show will broadcast the launch live, followed by specials, until the winner splashes down to Earth. It will air in the fall of 2001.

"Thousands are going to want to participate," Manber said. "This just proves that we understand the interest in space better than the government does."