Azerbaijan is planning to build the world’s tallest building – taller than both the Burj Khalifa and the upcoming Kingdom Tower to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Azerbaijan Tower, which is set to break ground in 2015, will  rise more than a kilometer in height, or 3,444 feet, upon its completion in 2018 or 2019,

The Azerbaijan Tower is being built on a series of artificial islands, called the Khazar Islands, constructed in the Caspian Sea off Garadag, southwest of Baku.

Even before Facebook goes public, Silicon Valley is buzzing in anticipation of the “instant millionaires” that may soon be looking for ways to spend their wealth.

Eight years after Mark Zuckerberg founded the company in Harvard, the stock market debut is expected to value the social media giant at as much as $100 billion.

While Zuckerberg and other longtime staffers stand to benefit the most, the initial public offering, which is expected as early as Wednesday, could also make millionaires out of much of the company’s rank-and-file.

Greece‘s culture ministry will open up some of the debt-stricken country’s most-cherished archaeological sites to advertising firms and other ventures.

The ministry says the move is a common-sense way of helping “facilitate” access to the country’s ancient Greek ruins, and money generated would fund the upkeep and monitoring of sites. The first site to be opened would be the Acropolis.

A commercial firm could rent the Acropolis for a professional photographic shoot for as little as $2,000 a day. Demonstrators could also rent the ancient landmark.

A Renaissance palace grafted onto the top of an ancient Roman theatre is up for sale in Rome for €32 million ($42 million).

Its asking price is thought to make it the most expensive property currently on sale in the Italian capital, and one of the most expensive in Europe.

The 11,000 sq ft property has frescoed staterooms, a ballroom, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a library, a dining room, a terrace, a separate penthouse and cellars.

The World Dubai will see its first island open to the public this week with the launch of the luxury World Island Beach Club.

“We will be opening in the first week of January,” said Reza Sinnen, operations manager at the beach club, based on the island of Lebanon.

The resort was originally scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2011 but pushed back its launch following construction delays.

The daughter of a Russian billionaire has broken New York real estate records by paying $88 million for a huge Manhattan apartment, Forbes magazine reported.

Yekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of former fertilizer magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev, paid full asking price for the multiroom spread at 15 Central Park West.

This is a record for an individual transaction in a city renowned for pricey property. The record was previously owned by Sanford Weill, a former chairman of Citigroup.