Images Dated 11th August 2003

Japan-Tableware-Lovecup-1

Printempt Ginza department store employee Akiko Fujii displays the heart shaped cup "Love Cup", priced 3, 000 yen (25 USD), in Tokyo 11 August 2003. The lip of the cup is round shape like a normal cup but the body of the cup is shaped the hart which is appeared when the drink is poured into. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO / AFP PHOTO / YOSHIKAZU TSUNO

© Agence France-Presse (AFP) - All Rights Reserved

Earth pillars (hoodoos) in Alberta badlands Canada

Earth pillars. Pillars of soft, sedimentary rock topped by flat caps of harder rock. Earth pillars, or hoodoos, are formed due to the presence of large pieces of hard rock in semi-arid regions of sedimentary rock that experience occasional heavy downpours. The rain weathers away unprotected material leaving behind columns of rock under hard caps. Photographed near Drumheller in Alberta, Canada

© DAVID NUNUK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Turquoise gemstones

Turquoise gemstones. Turquoise (hydrated copper aluminium phosphate) is the most valuable non- transparent gemstone. Its name, although now related to its colour, comes from a French word for stone of Turkey. Turquoise gems may contain impurities producing other colours, such as green. It has been prized as a gemstone since ancient times, with examples found in early Egyptian jewellery from 6000 BC

© LAWRENCE LAWRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY