A meeting of world leaders and businessmen in the Swiss ski resort of Davos will begin to tackle tough economic issues on Friday.

US President Bill Clinton will be guest of honour at the annual World Economic Forum - a six-day gathering of the world's political and economic elite.

He is the first sitting US president to frequent the meeting, among the 33 heads of state who will attending this year, including Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But before Mr Clinton arrives on Saturday, business leaders and politicians will debate the prospects for world growth and the need for closer cooperation between countries.

World Trade Organisation boss Mike Moore will mount another plea to revive the trade talks that came off the rails in Seattle amid mass protests, clashing with US trade union leader John Sweeney, one of the organisers of the protest.

The world leaders will also consider how to include the poor and those in developing countries in the economic boom that is spreading prosperity across most rich countries.

The Shadow of Seattle

The organisers are worried about a repeat of the riots which disrupted those trade talks in December, and security will be tight.

Protesters have promised to demonstrate against the meeting in Davos, particularly when Mr Clinton arrives on Saturday.

WEF founder and president Klaus Schwab said at the start of the meeting that it was nothing like the World Trade Organisation.

"What we are doing here in Davos is to integrate very much the social, human and environmental dimensions in our discussions.

"In some ways we try to act as the social conscience of the world economy. We have done it for many years," he added.

Internet fears

Warnings about the social consequences of the new internet-based economy were underlined by a survey of business chief's views released at the start of the Davos meeting.

The survey, by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers, found that corporate leaders were on the whole upbeat about prospects for economic growth in the next few years, but warned that the internet risked widening the gap between rich and poor.

While stressing overall optimism, it showed that 50% of the world's chief executives believe that the continued growth of the internet will widen the gap between developed and developing nations.

Some 38% believe the gap will diminish.

Key event for business

Now in its 30th year, the World Economic Forum meeting at Davos has become one of about half a dozen key economic and political gatherings of the year.

Former Observer editor Will Hutton, who has been attending the event for over a decade, says it is a useful barometer of opinion.

"Davos doesn't tell you what is going to happen particularly - it tells you what the international common sense is at a particular moment in time and what the order of priority of concern is amongst central bankers, finance ministers, heads of government and chief executives," he says.

Among the prominent businessmen attending the forum are Microsoft's Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch of News International.

Politicians from countries in conflict with each other, such as Greece and Turkey, also traditionally use the meeting for informal consultations