Probing for waterworlds in the depths of space

WATERWORLDS twice the size of Earth may be among the first planets found by a new European space telescope due to be launched in 2008, scientists believe.

Planets completely covered in water have long been imagined by science fiction writers and movie-makers.

Kevin Costner’s Hollywood box-office flop Waterworld was set on a future Earth flooded by melting polar icecaps. But scientists believe such planets may exist among the stars, and have calculated what they might be like.