China plans huge Ferris wheel

The London Eye faces Asian competition

China is planning to build the world's largest Ferris wheel to knock the London Eye off the top spot.

The new wheel should be joining Shanghai's modern skyline by 2005, state media has reported.

The 200-metre-tall (660 foot) wheel would top the London Eye by 65 metres (213 feet), the Shanghai Daily newspaper said.

If the plan goes ahead the wheel will also top Las Vegas' plans to put a 170-metre (560 foot) in the middle of its casino-lined main strip.

Skyscrapers

The London Eye, part-owned by British Airways, is the current Guinness Book of Records' world leader. The wheel, next to the River Thames, stands at 135 metres (450 feet).

Construction of the Shanghai wheel will begin before the end of the year and be finished in three years, the Shanghai Daily said.

Shanghai, China's largest city, has other big building plans.

The planned 460 metres (1,509 feet) Shanghai World Financial Centre is due to open ahead of the 2008 Olympics which Beijing is hosting.

Shanghai is already home to the 88-storey Jinmao Tower, currently China's tallest building and the third tallest in the world.