A new space race is under way as Scotland battles against England for the right to launch the first tourist flights from Britain.

As Westminster comes under increasing pressure from a cross-party committee of MPs to change legislation to ease the introduction of such trips, two rivals, RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall, emerged as front-runners for the inaugural UK base.

Richard Branson's space travel firm Virgin Galactic plans to offer trips from the Mojave desert in the western US next year after America changed its laws to permit sub-orbital tourist flights.

About 200 people, including 35 UK citizens, have paid deposits on £100,000 three-hour flight tickets. Virgin Galactic estimates tickets for the 400,000ft, 2500mph flights could cost £37,500 within five years.

It also estimates that the first flight from RAF Lossiemouth could take to the skies as early as 2012 if appropriate ground rules are agreed.

RAF St Mawgan and RAF Lossiemouth are similar and the airfields boast the same 9000ft runways.

Both have populations a few miles from their bases: Elgin close to RAF Lossiemouth and Newquay next to RAF St Mawgan.

But Lossiemouth has the advantage of not having the same controlled air space issues that could hamper St Mawgan, where restrictions exist because of flight paths above Cornwall that serve aircraft travelling to and from London and Continental Europe across the Atlantic. The Science and Technology Select Committee today warns the government in a new report that it must provide the UK with a coherent space strategy if it is not to be left behind by other countries.

In its study, 2007: A Space Policy, the committee said the lack of government support for early stage technology development already places the UK at a disadvantage.

A spokesman for the committee said: "On space tourism, such as those ventures planned by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic programme, the committee also takes a different view from the government and is excited by the potential afforded by sub-orbital travel and the rise of space tourism industry.

"The MPs say they do not believe that it should be the responsibility of the government to fund this work but developments in this area should be encouraged through appropriate regulation."

A spokesman for Virgin Galactic said: "The UK should encourage private sector investment in space activities through commercial incentives, possibly through monetary and fiscal policy."

It also suggested that the government "invest in public-private-partnership type arrangements for basic infrastructures, such as space ports, that can be shared with the private sector for commercial activities".

The company, one of a number pioneering such activities, said the state of New Mexico provided assistance for the development of the space port in the Mojave desert.

Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic, said there was potential for creating similar space ports in the UK at Lossiemouth or St Mawgan "if there was a suitable financial and regulatory climate".

He added: "The role for government in our project is quite simple. We need to have a legislative background in the UK which would allow this type of commercial flight to take place here or we will lose a massive opportunity."

Commenting on the report, Phil Willis, chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, said: "Space should be an arena in which today's fantastic ideas are assessed seriously because they could be tomorrow's reality. It is crucial that the government increases funding for space programmes now in order to benefit future generations."

"The space sector should not have to survive solely on the fruits of past investments in space. There are opportunities for the UK to lead developments in many emerging areas as long as the government shows the political lead essential for the UK research and industrial sectors."

The government now has 60 days to consider the report before it answers the call for a change to legislation which it says is strict partly on the basis of pubic safety.