Gold Kate-ing

This is the first glimpse of a £1.5 million solid gold sculpture of supermodel Kate Moss - naked, obviously.

The 50kg statue will go on display in the Nereid Gallery of the British Museum, where it will be surrounded by beauties such as Crouching Venus, the goddess of love.

Siren was made by Marc Quinn and is said to be the largest gold statue to be made in the world since the time of Ancient Egypt.

Quinn said: "I thought the next thing to do would be to make a sculpture of the person who's the ideal beauty of the moment. But even Kate Moss doesn't live up to the image."

The 18-carat Kate is part of a collection by contemporary artists going on display at the British Museum.

Each will be placed in a separate room within the museum, alongside the permanent sculpture collection which dates back 250 years.

The exhibition is the subject of a Channel 4 documentary The Sculpture Diaries to be broadcast in the autumn.

It will run from October 4 to January 25 at the British Museum.