Times Square Gossip

**** SIR RICHARD BRANSON PROMOTES THE BUSINESS OF SAVING SHARKS Could Well-Managed Whale Shark Tourism Save the Species? **** Sir Richard Branson Swims With Shark Today, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group and Virgin Unite, joins non-profit group WildAid to swim with 300 whale sharks off the coast of Cancun to demonstrate that the economic benefits of shark tourism can drastically outweigh the value derived from killing a shark for its fins. According to WildAid, the lifetime economic value of a single whale shark can exceed US$2 million, compared to a few hundred dollars to kill the same shark for its fins. Sir Richard and his family, who are in Mexico to celebrate Virgin Atlantic’s new direct service from London Gatwick to Cancun, took a detour to swim with these gentle giants and raise awareness of shark conservation. It is estimated that whale shark tourism is worth over US$47 million worldwide per year. “Sharks play an i...

Victoria Principal Former Dallas star Victoria Principal is fulfilling her childhood fantasy after becoming the first woman to buy a ticket on Sir Richard Branson's commercial passenger spacecraft. The actress is among almost 300 ticket holders who purchased a $200,000 suborbital day trip on the Virgin tycoon's VSS Enterprise. The two-pilot, six-person craft will be carried to the edge of space by a carrier plane, where passengers will experience weightlessness. Victoria was the first woman, to sign up for the adventure. She tells People.com, "Going into space fulfils many desires I have of seeing the planet, going fast, going someplace very few people have been - and hopefully coming back down! I'm a passenger in something that is pioneering. This will become to our great-grandchildren what Wilbur and Orville Wright were to you and me." Virgin Galactic will begin testing the spaceship early next year, with the first flights due to launch in 2011. Photos By: RD/Dz...

Paris Hilton gets knocked up at 15 years old Paris Hilton lost her virginity to Tori Spelling's brother Randy when she was 15 he has claimed. Randy revealed he was Paris first lover on new reality US TV show 'Sons of Hollywood', which also features Rod Stewart's son Sean, on which he speaks about his privileged life in Los Angeles. Recalling the experience, the 28-year-old said: "We were together for like two months. We went to Palm Springs and we couldn't check into the hotel under her name because her grandmother was looking for her. She was like 15 and I was 17. And what do you know, I hear this knock-knock-knock on the door and I look out and see grandmother. And then I look out the window and I see Paris in a full-on dress with a suitcase running down the golf course." Randy also revealed he is still friends with Paris, 26, and claims she proudly spoke of their sexual experience at a Los Angeles club recently. He said: "She came up to me and wa...