public static Item GetFallbackItem(this Item item)
{
  Assert.IsNotNull(item, "item cannot be null");

  var success = false;
  int iterations = 0, maxIterations = 5;
  while (iterations++ < maxIterations)
  {
    var fallbackLang = item.Language.GetFallbackLanguage(item.Database);
    if (fallbackLang != null &&
       !fallbackLang.Name.IsNullOrEmpty() &&
       !fallbackLang.Equals(item.Language))
    {
      item = item.Database.GetItem(item.ID, fallbackLang, Version.Latest);
      if (item != null && item.Versions.Count > 0)
      {
        success = true;
        break;
      }
    }
  }

  return success ? item : null;
}

public static bool HasFallbackVersion(this Item item)
{
  if (item.Versions.Count > 0)
  {
    return true;
  }

  var fallbackItem = item.GetFallbackItem();
  return fallbackItem != null && fallbackItem.Versions.Count > 0;
}