Moore has film of US hostage Berg

The contents of the interview with Mr Berg have not been disclosed

Film director Michael Moore says he has interview footage of slain US hostage Nick Berg that was not used in his anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

Moore, whose film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes festival, said the footage was about 20 minutes long.

He said it would not be released to the media and that he was dealing privately with Mr Berg's family about it.

Mr Berg's killing shocked Americans after an Arabic-language website showed a video of him being beheaded.

Neither Moore nor his representatives would discuss the nature of the interview with Mr Berg, or its contents, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Mr Berg, 26, was known to be strongly in favour of the US-led war in Iraq.

AP said it had tried in vain to contact Mr Berg's parents at their home in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

'Revenge'

Mr Berg, a telecommunications worker, disappeared in Iraq in April.

His headless corpse was found on 9 May in Baghdad and days later a video of his decapitation appeared on an al-Qaeda-related website.

The hooded men who carried out the killing claimed they were avenging the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad.

Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 explores the Iraq war and alleges connections between President George W Bush and top Saudi families, including the Bin Ladens.

The documentary uses Moore's customary satirical style to accuse Mr Bush of stealing the presidential election in 2000, ignoring terrorism warnings before 11 September 2001 and fuelling fears of more attacks to secure Americans' support for the war in Iraq.