Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) will push for common positions on promoting democracy in Iran, combating climate change and coordinating their exits from huge government stimulus measures - even amid a growing sense that the group's preeminence may be fading.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the host, boasts that 90 per cent of the world economy will be represented by 39 nations at the G8's annual three-day summit in L'Aquila.

But only the main eight - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States - enjoy status as full agenda-setting participants.

The others - including the world's five largest emerging economies, who meet separately on the first day Wednesday, and nine African nations - join the main forum later mostly on topics already covered by the core eight.

G8 MEMBERSHIP NARROW

Despite its political and economic clout, there is an increasing acknowledgement, even among some of its leaders, that the G8 is too narrow for big political and economic decision-making.

China, a major exporter and holder of vast foreign currency reserves, needs to be on board in combatting the global economic crisis, and along with India and Brazil remains an indispensable partner on climate change.

"We see that the world is growing together. The problems that we face can no longer be solved by the industrialised nations," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a pre-G-8 speech last week.

Leaders will look ahead to a Group of 20 summit including developing countries September 24-25 in Pittsburgh as they continue to coordinate efforts begun at an April 2 meeting of the G20 in London to counter the world economic crisis.

Limiting government spending

European members led by Germany have stressed the need to limit the government spending and monetary expansion resulting from efforts to stimulate national economies, fearing crippling debt and inflation.

But US and Britain are still emphasising the need for stimulus, stressing it is too early for "exit strategies."

On the second day, the summit adds five developing countries - Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa - plus special invitee Egypt, focusing on getting developing nations on board.

Developing countries such as China and India are now major polluters, but argue the industrial world produced most of the gases in recent decades and should bear the costs of fixing the problem.

China, despite some official statements to the contrary, could raise the sensitive issue of a new world reserve currency, after their central bank recently proposed that the world move away from a reliance on the US dollar.

The summit opens to African nations on the last day, with food security topping the agenda. Italy, home to both the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme, is pushing for a package that could include a move toward strategic grain reserves and calls for investments in new agriculture technologies.

The effort comes as Italy, along with France, have taken heat for donating only a fraction of US$8 billion in aid they pledged to increase aid to sub-Saharan Africa by US$25 billion a year by 2010 as part of ambitious plans laid out by the G8 in 2005.

Italy's current spending only covers 3 per cent of the US$3.5 billion it promised and France has delivered only 7 per cent of the additional US$5.2 billion it pledged, according to the London-based anti-poverty group, ONE.

Still, a G-monitoring group says that three-quarters of the 296 commitments made at the last summit in Japan have been kept - about average for the G8.

AP