MOSCOW - A FORMER KGB agent wanted by Britain over the radiation poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko is likely to run for mayor of the Olympic city of Sochi, his political party said on Friday.

Andrei Lugovoi, who is wanted for allegedly poisoning Litvinenko with radioactive polonium in London in 2006, confirmed that he could be a candidate for mayor in next month's vote in the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Mr Lugovoi, who denies involvement in the crime, would be a 'good candidate' for the April 26 election in Sochi, said a parliamentary spokesman for the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), Viktoria Sotnikova.

Though Mr Lugovoi's candidacy has yet to be registered, 'the question has been 100 percent decided' by party leaders, Ms Sotnikova told AFP.

Mr Lugovoi, a former agent in the Soviet KGB and member of the post-Soviet Kremlin bodyguard, was guarded in his comments but stressed that the Black Sea resort town of Sochi was a key battleground - while expounding on his love of winter sports.

'I am Russian, after all. I ice-skate and play hockey and I do both cross-country and Alpine skiing,' he told AFP.

'The LDPR is considering the question of who will be the party's candidate in the Sochi mayoral election, and my candidacy is under consideration.... The decision will be made by the end of next week.

'The LDPR approaches any regional election responsibly.... This after all is the southern capital of Russia, so naturally we are planning to participate,' he added.

Since Britain made a request for his extradition, Lugovoi has maintained a high public profile in Russia, winning a seat in parliament representing the LDPR in 2007. Russia has refused to extradite him to Britain, citing a constitutional bar on extraditions.

There was immediate scorn for his latest move from the widow of Litvinenko, who called for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics if Mr Lugovoi is elected.

'In that case I would call for a boycott of the games. I would personally go from country to country urging people not to go to an event hosted by a murderer,' Marina Litvinenko said in a statement. Mr Lugovoi declined to comment on the boycott call. -- AFP