Russia plans to build a $6 billion artificial island off the coast of the Black Sea resort of Sochi ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games there, a Russian property developer said.

The 250-hectare island will bear the name of Federation Island and will be shaped in the form of a map of Russia. Developer M-Industry Group said the island would be linked to the mainland by three bridges.

M-Industry said Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat would design the project. The design was shown to President Vladimir Putin last week during an investment conference in Sochi.

The idea echoes a similar project in Dubai, which is building 200 artificial islands in the shape of a map of the globe. The island is not so far from one of the sites earmarked for Olympic venues.

Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, has reaped the benefits of high prices for its oil and gas in recent years and is now home to 43 dollar billionaires, according to Forbes magazine.

Real estate prices in Sochi soared 30 per cent within a week of the International Olympic Committee announcing in July that Sochi had won its bid to host the winter games.