London will lead the world in terms of international tourist arrivals this year, according to new research released June 1 by MasterCard.

The new index of Global Destination Cities predicts London will receive 20.1 million inbound passengers in 2011, slightly more than Paris’s 18.1 million.

Bangkok is expected to welcome the third-highest number of visitors, followed by Singapore and Hong Kong — in fact, cities in Asia-Pacific account for eight of the top 20 global destinations.

Consumers are spending less on discretionary items such as cinema tickets and more on clothing, and more of their expenditures take place online, with eBay and Amazon proving popular retail sites across the UK, America and Hong Kong.

The MasterCard SpendingPulse report released on October 6 found that consumers in the USA recently spent more on clothes and electronic goods than luxury items.

The report also found that while sales at high street stores dropped, online retailers posted month-on-month gains of 7.8 percent throughout September.

Luxury consumption and e-commerce both jumped in February, according to data released March 3 by MasterCard.

After a largely positive January, MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse reported that the rise in US online spending continued in Feb, up 16.7 % year-on-year.

Although the severe weather may have contributed to this rise, the firm added that February’s excellent results capped seven straight months of double-digit online spending growth.

“The Cavalli Card” starring supermodel Milla Jovovich: this is the short film, for an Internet-only ad campaign, called “I Have Everything”, nothing else.

A beautiful woman that play with her dresses and accessories and she does it out of vanity, she dreams, she wants everything and she has got everything because the iridescent Cavalli card equip her for every curveball life could throw.

“I’m thinking about creating a Web site where card holders can chat directly with me,” Cavalli said.

We have earlier introduced you to some of the very exclusive cards, including the American Express Black Card, and the diamond-studded Royale MasterCard for Dubai’s elites.

Now, MasterCard and Kazkommertsbank, the second largest bank in Kazakhstan, together are bringing a MasterCard credit card festooned with gold and diamonds.

Known as the “Diamond”, the card has a 0.02-carat gem embedded in its centre and a picture of a peacock for female cardholders and a winged horse for men.

How would you like to own a credit card with a solitaire diamond embedded in it? Can you imagine the look on the faces of your fellow diners when you casually whip it out and hand it over to the waiter to pay the bill? And, to make things even better, there is no pre-set spending limit on the card.

Before you go running to apply, here’s the catch – the Dubai First Royale MasterCard is by invitation only and as the name “Royale” suggests is only for the VVIPs of UAE society and the movers and shakers of the business world.

Ravi Bhardwaj, country corporate officer, Dubai First, told Emirates Business: “Our Royale MasterCard is by invitation only and it is for a select group of people, who represent the upper echelons of the business and social community.