Burj Khalifa | featured news

Just before sunset Monday, a French skyscraper climber who calls himself "Spiderman" started to pull his way up the side of the world's tallest tower in Dubai. Before he began his climb up the 2,717 foot-tall (828 meter) Burj Khalifa, Alain Robert said he expected the climb to take about six or seven hours. As night fell, a row of powerful spotlights shone on the side of the tower as Robert climbed.

The tallest building in the world casts a long shadow on downtown Dubai, as seen in this picture from the GeoEye-1 satellite. But this is no Tower of Babel: Its 2,717-foot height comes nowhere close to reaching the satellite's 423-mile-high orbit. The $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa building made its Dubai debut in January, and recently served as the setting for scenes filmed with Tom Cruise for the upcoming movie "Mission: Impossible 4." Check out our story about the building's opening for additional background and visual perspectives.

The world's tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks.