PARIS: France will push for the G-8 group of industrial powers to admit the major emerging economies and thus become a G-14 when Paris presides over the group in 2011, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday.

The G-8 already includes the biggest emerging economies in some of its deliberations, but retains its own identity as the most influential world economic policy forum, despite mounting calls to broaden its base.

'I note with pleasure that the transformation of the G-8 into the G-14 has taken a decisive step forward,' Sarkozy told a meeting of French ambassadors in Paris, noting that France has supported Brazil's call for an end to the G-8.

'The Canadian presidency in 2010 will conduct the bulk of its summit as the G-14 and we intend to totally finish the transformation into the G-14 under the French presidency in 2011,' he promised.

Already at this year's G-8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, the G-8 - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States - was joined by Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Mexico and Egypt.

But some G-8 members, notably Japan, have resisted formally abandoning the G8 structure, arguing that more members would find it harder to reach a consensus on major economic policy issues. LINK