DENVER, Colorado (AFP) - The parents in Colorado's 'balloon boy' hoax were handed jail sentences Wednesday for their roles in the bizarre publicity stunt which became a worldwide media sensation.

Richard Heene, 48, showed no emotion as Judge Stephen Schapanski gave him a 90-day sentence to begin in January, before a packed courtroom in Fort Collins, outside Denver.

His wife, Japanese national Mayumi Heene, 45, was sentenced to 20 days in jail after admitting a misdemeanor offense of false reporting to authorities. She will serve her jail time after her husband is released next year.

It was the final twist of a saga which began when the Heenes told police and media on October 15 that their six-year-old son Falcon had floated away in a home-made balloon shaped like a flying saucer.

The stunt was cooked up by the couple in an attempt to gain publicity which they hoped would help the family land their own reality television series.

'This in simple terms was an elaborate hoax that was devised by Mr and Mrs Heene,' the judge said as he sentenced Richard Heeene on Wednesday.

'What this case is about is deception and exploitation - exploitation of the Heenes' children, exploitation of the media, exploitation of the feelings of people. And it was all about money, making money.'

Under the terms of the sentence, Richard Heene will serve 30 days behind bars while the remainder of the term will be 'work release,' allowing the father-of-three to work during the day but spending his nights in a jail cell.

Heene, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant, earlier apologized for the hoax in brief remarks to the court.

'I do want to reiterate that I'm very, very sorry and I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there and the people that got involved in the community. That's it,' he said.

Mayumi Heene was handed her 20-day jail term after admitting a misdemeanor offense of false reporting to authorities. She will also be able to serve the sentence on a part-time basis - two days each week, in order to allow her to work.

Schapanski said he was delaying the start of Richard Heene's sentence for the sake of his family.

'I will delay this until after the holiday in fairness mostly to his children,' Schapanski said.

The Heenes also received four years probation and were forbidden from any activity which allows them to profit from the hoax, which led to a massive rescue effort involving military helicopters and dozens of law enforcement personnel.

Flights at Denver International Airport were also diverted during the incident, which ended when Falcon emerged from a hiding place at the family home roughly five hours into the drama.

But law enforcement later began to suspect the incident was a hoax when Falcon Heene let slip in a CNN television interview that the entire episode had been done 'for the show.'

The hoax was confirmed within 48 hours of the interview, when Mayumi Heene broke down under questioning, according to police.

Prosecutor Andrew Lewis told the court that the stunt had used up 389 hours from law enforcement personnel, and that the bill for the case so far was more than 47,000 dollars and could increase.

The Heenes will be asked to foot the bill but the terms of restitution will be fixed at a later date.

Lewis urged the court to issue a jail term to deter other publicity-seekers from similar hoaxes in future.

'There needs to be deterrence to other people who want their 30 seconds of fame,' Lewis said. 'This court needs to send a message to all the people who want to do something like this.'

However Richard Heene's lawyer urged the court not to send his client to jail, comparing the hoax to Orson Welles' legendary 1938 radio broadcast of 'War of the Worlds,' which triggered fears of an alien invasion.

'When Orson Welles convinced Americans that Martians were landing people were committing suicide, people were panicked, they were running through the streets,' he said. 'I don't recall that he ever went to jail for it.'