The Brazilian government has been unveiling details of its long-awaited austerity programme to revive the country's battered economy.

There are to be tax increases and cuts in spending worth nearly twenty-four billion dollars.

The plan also calls on civil servants to pay more into pension schemes.

The measures are expected to pave the way for an estimated thirty billion dollar rescue programme organised by the International Monetary Fund.

The BBC Economics Correspondent says the austerity package has wider significance because the international financial community regard Brazil as the last barrier preventing the crisis in many developing economies spreading to more countries.