From correspondents in Paris

ASTRONAUTS on the International Space Station (ISS) are to get an unusual treat – an MP3 player loaded with a playlist of songs specially chosen for people in orbit.
The top ten was selected by a 14-year-old Norwegian girl, Therese Miljeteig, who won a competition staged by the European Space Agency (ESA).

Her prize is to watch the launch this weekend of ESA’s space freighter, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), at the Kourou space base, French Guiana.

After launch, the cargo ship will dock automatically in low Earth orbit with the ISS, bringing food, water and other essentials to the ISS crew, as well as clothing and other personal items.

This was the winning selection, which beat out 1000 rivals from 10 countries:

– Here Comes The Sun – Beatles

– Come Fly With Me – Frank Sinatra

– Rocket Man – Elton John

– Up Where We Belong – Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes

– Imagine – John Lennon

– Flashdance – What A Feeling – Irene Cara

– Walk of Life – Dire Straits

– Fly – Celine Dion

– Rockin’ All Over The World – Status Quo

– I Believe I Can Fly – R Kelly