SAO PAULO: China, Brazil and India, three major players in the developing world, may be invited to join the ranks of the world's most powerful group of nations, the Group of Eight (G8), according to diplomatic sources here.

Although no formal decision has been reached, there are strong indications the three developing nations are potential candidates to join the privileged group.

"It is only a matter of time," a Third World diplomat told IPS. "And it is also a matter of political reality."

Asked if there was any truth to the speculation, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told IPS: "I haven't seen anything specific."

But he agreed that such a move would signal a broadening of political power throughout the world. "I think it is the recognition that you cannot attempt (to rule the world) - not the G8, nor a G11 or G12 could do that either, because those things have to be dealt with institutionally."

"Let's just say, even to tackle the tasks that will be discussed institutionally, you can no longer gather the seven richest countries, or eight counting Russia (which is an important country not for its gross national product but for other reasons); you cannot just have those countries decide," he said.

Also, added Amorim, today's world is very complex and what happens in China, India or Brazil will have an impact on rich nations. If the three countries are invited, he said, "it is not to do us a favour, or recognise our importance, but it is because it is important for themselves."

If offered membership, the three nations will follow in the footsteps of Russia, which accepted a formal invitation to join the then Group of Seven (G7) in June 2002.

The original seven, described as the world's most industrialized nations, were the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.

When the G7 extended the invitation to Russia, it was considered a personal victory for President Vladimir Putin. Although his nation had taken part in several G7 meetings, it was not a full-fledged member.

Although there is no official word as to when China, India and Brazil would be invited to join the G8, diplomatic sources predict that it is likely to happen in 2006, when Russia will host the G8 summit.

India and Brazil are also strong contenders - along with Germany and Japan - for three new veto-wielding permanent seats in the 15-member United Nations Security Council. China is already one of five permanent members - in the company of the United States, Britain, France and Russia.

The proposed UN move, according to several diplomats, would dramatically change the political and economic equation on the international scene.

The possible expansion of the G8 - to G11 - is also being viewed as a bold diplomatic manoeuvre by Washington and the European Union (EU) to neutralise the growing clout of the G20 developing nations, a bloc dominated by China, India and Brazil.

The three countries are also an integral part of the 132- strong Group of 77, alongside some of the poorest of the world's poor, including Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, Chad and Liberia.

If invited to join the G8, the three nations may be forced to leave the G77, the largest single grouping at the United Nations and the collective voice of the developing world.

In 1994, Mexico became the first developing nation to exit the G77 when it joined the rich nations' club, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It was followed by South Korea in 1997. Last month, two other members, Cyprus and Malta, were forced to leave the group after they became members of the EU.

Strangely, China - a country that may soon have the world's fourth largest economy, behind the United States, Japan and Germany - is still a member of the G77.-Dawn/The InterPress News Service.