While most of the world is chest deep in a credit crunch, MasterCard has teamed up with Kazakhstan's Kazkommertsbank in launching the Diamond credit card [1]. The diamond-encrusted, gold-laced card will be released in two weeks to an elite population of millionaires who can afford the $1,000 annual fee and won't blink at the $50,000 credit limit.

The growing millionaire population of Kazakhstan is currently at 12,000, and the bank needs only about eight percent of these people to sign up for a card: A total of 1,000 cards will be released and only 30 each month to ensure the card will not be taken for granted as a status symbol. The his version features a winged horse and the hers version boasts a peacock, and there is a 0.02 carat diamond embedded in every card's center. MasterCard launched a similar card for its most VIP customers in Dubai last year.