Genghis,
There are a few people in the UK trying to win the X Prize as well:
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches...ch_000706.html
The main home page for Starchaser can be found here:
http://www.starchaser.co.uk/html/index.html
The problem is cost, It's not cheap trying to get into orbit and the UK government has never been interested in space at all.
At least this guy is trying.....
Gary.