Mr Gambari had earlier flown to the country's new jungle capital, Naypyidaw, to try and persuade the junta to end its crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

He was slated to meet the country's top leader, Senior General Than Shwe, but the meeting was postponed a second time.

However, according to a Myanmar Information Ministry official, Mr Gambari - who had made two trips to the capital to meet the reclusive leader since arriving on Saturday - will finally be allowed to meet Gen Than today.

But in the meantime, a military official said the envoy had been sent on a helicopter tour of remote north-eastern Shan state, and was 'enjoying the military's hospitality'.

Mr Gambari was staying in the town of Lashio, 960km north-east of Yangon, where the workshop was being held, the official said.

The official declined to give any details of the trip or to explain why Mr Gambari was sent there, although diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he would attend a seminar on the European Union's relations with South-east Asia.

UN officials with Mr Gambari were outside mobile phone coverage, however, and the UN office in Yangon said only that he was still in the country.

'He looks forward to meeting Senior General Than Shwe and other relevant interlocutors before the conclusion of his mission,' it added.

The delay in meeting Gen Than does not augur well for Mr Gambari's mission, hastily arranged last week when soldiers were sent to crush more than a week of mass protests led by monks against decades of military rule and deepening poverty.

But Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo told The Straits Times there was still hope of resolving the situation. He said the fact that the generals had previously allowed Mr Gambari to see detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was 'a signal that they were prepared to deal', and that she had also shown her willingness to deal by receiving him.

He urged all sides to minimise violence and hardship by working together to find a way forward.

'It cannot be that we must first bring everything down and only from the ashes will a new Myanmar emerge,' he said.

'That cannot be the game plan. That is certainly not Asean's game plan.'

Meanwhile, the protests - the biggest in two decades - appeared to have petered out yesterday, as troops stationed on street corners across Yangon made it impossible even for small crowds of demonstrators to assemble.

Also yesterday, a Japanese envoy arrived in the former capital to ensure a full investigation into the death of 50-year-old Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai, who was shot dead by troops.

The junta says 10 people were killed during the protests, although Western governments say the death toll is probably far higher.

The protests began with small marches against fuel price rises in mid-August, but intensified about two weeks ago when monks joined in.

The crackdown prompted criticism even from China, the closest the junta has to an ally, as well as condemnation from Asean, of which Myanmar is a member.

REUTERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE-FRANCE PRESSE

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EDITORIAL: IT CANNOT GO ON AS BEFORE