Mr Brown, due at the forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday, called for the International Monetary Fund to be given broader powers to keep watch on the world economy, writing an op-ed article for the Financial Times.

'In their search for higher returns, investors underpriced the risks in a number of markets, particularly in the markets for complex derivative products,' Mr Brown wrote in the article, published online late Thursday. 'Loan risks were transferred to those least able to understand them.'

But the leader - who saw the impact of the instability at home last year with the first run on a British bank since 1866 - said he was not advocating a return of protectionist policies, insisting they would compound current woes.

'This latest test of world financial systems presents a window in which to address fundamental issues that, if tackled properly, will improve economic management, regulation and the fight against inflation, and help us prevent similar crises in the future,' Mr Brown wrote.

He warned that there is no effective surveillance system to scrutinise the world economy, calling for the International Monetary Fund to be reformed to take on the task.

'It was built for the era of national, not global, economics - for dealing with local balance of payments crises, not global flows of capital,' Mr Brown wrote.

'To be effective for a new era, the IMF should act with the same independence as a central bank - responsible for the surveillance of the world economy, for informing and educating markets, and for enforcing transparency through the system.'

Mr Brown also said he was still hopeful of a deal on the stalled Doha round of World Trade Organization trade talks - launched in 2001.

'Our future prosperity, the credibility of the multilateral system and a chance for millions of poor people to break out of poverty are at stake. We cannot afford to fail,' he wrote. -- AP