Cosmic mat welcomes aliens

ADELAIDE, Australia - It may look like an ordinary door mat, but its creators insist the conceptual art piece could encourage alien life to visit Earth - and help create a new kind of space archaeology.

Dubbed the "Cosmic Welcome Mat", it features swirls of red, sky blue, and violet against a black border, and is meant to convey a warm reception to all sentient life in the universe.

Experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats, who created the rug with space archaeologist Alice Gorman of Flinders University in Australia, aims to have similar mats placed all over the world.