WASHINGTON - THE Group of Seven industrialised nations meeting in Washington is unlikely to come up with a plan of action against the global financial crisis that will be the same for everybody, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

'What I think is very important, is that (we get) at the same time a show of unity and coordinated responses,' Mr Lagarde said.

'Each of our markets is different in terms of size, regulation, those involved, so you cannot think that we will get a harmonized response which will be the same for everyone.'

'You cannot apply the same method to different market situations. What seems very important to me, is that we agree a common set of principles,' she said.

Ms Lagarde was speaking ahead of a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors later in the day in Washington against a backdrop of massive turmoil and strains on the stock and credit markets.

The G7 groups the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy and Canada.

Earlier in the week, all their central banks, except Japan, jointly cut interest rates by half a point in an unprecedented step which failed to steady investor nerves for more than a few moments.

The panic on the stock markets continued on Friday, suffering staggering losses as investors sought the safety of cash at all costs. -- AFP