CKX Inc., the parent company of Elvis Presley Enterprises, announced a long-term joint venture Thursday with Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian-based acrobatic troupe known for its extravagant theatrical and acrobatic productions.

Cirque du Soleil (French for circus of the sun) will produce a series of shows focused on Presley's life and music and help design interactive, multimedia museums called "Elvis Experiences," CKX said.

"The partnership promises to not only keep Elvis alive but also to bring a new perspective and vibrancy to Elvis that only the people at Cirque du Soleil could do," said CKX chief executive Robert F.X. Sillerman.

Touring productions are expected to get under way in about 18 months in Europe and Asia with the first of a series of "Elvis Experience" museum opening later in 2008, Sillerman said from his headquarters in New York.

Production schedules and museum sites are as yet unsettled.

CKX also owns the American Idol TV show and other entertainment ventures.

Cirque du Soleil, begun in 1984, is scheduled to stage 13 shows this year, including one set to open in Las Vegas next month based on the music of the Beatles.

CKX also owns the American Idol TV show and other entertainment ventures.  That explains a lot.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A simulated suicide bombing will be filmed in downtown Los Angeles this weekend in a campaign by prominent Iraqis who want to dissuade the bombers who have wreaked a devastating toll on their country.

The 60-second edited film, a simulation of a Baghdad marketplace bombing that will kill or injure 200 people, will air on Iraqi TV in six weeks.

Los Angeles-based commercial filmmaker 900 Frames will film and produce the staged suicide bombing, showing viewers the time just before, during and after the explosion, in an effort to capture the impact of the act.

A group of scholars, businessmen and activists in

Iraqi leaders recently agreed on a national unity government to curb sectarian violence in the country where suicide bombings are an almost daily occurrence. More than 35,000 Iraqi civilians have died since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, hundreds in suicide attacks.

900 Frames co-founder Drew Plotkin said it was "a tremendous responsibility."

"This is about saving lives," he said. "If we do our job right, it is quite possible this could be the way to stop suicide bombing."