Ms Tessa Jowell, the British minister with responsibility for the Olympics, told The Sunday Times newspaper she had 'a lot of enthusiasm' for the idea of the torch being taken round the 'villages, towns and cities in the UK'.

'There would be no more powerful way of making them feel part of the Olympics, would there?' Ms Jowell said in an interview.

The weekly said that Ms Jowell would announce that the relay would take place only in Britain, although it did not quote the minister as saying this.

China's decision to take the torch around the world turned into a global protest by pro-Tibet campaigners, who tried to wrestle the torch from the hands of runners on stages in Europe.

The Beijing torch was surrounded by tracksuit-wearing security minders on its troubled passage around the globe.

Left with a tall order to rival the spectacular Beijing Olympics, the London organisers have promised a more modest Games with less draconian security.

Ms Jowell said the 2012 planners had noticed that some venues in Beijing had sparse crowds.

'My ambition is to see seats filled, every Londoner having the opportunity to see some event, and people being able to come from around the country. It's not simple, but we are determined to crack this,' she told the newspaper. -- AFP