Louvre allows Da Vinci Code shoot

Much of the action of the Da Vinci Code is focused on the Louvre

France has allowed the makers of the Hollywood film version of hit novel The Da Vinci Code to shoot in the Louvre Museum, home of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

The French culture ministry said: "Yes, it is scheduled to go ahead. There is no problem."

The film, to be directed by A Beautiful Mind's Ron Howard, is due to start filming at the Paris museum in May.

The movie version of Dan Brown's book will feature Tom Hanks in the lead role of Dr Robert Langdon.

The Da Vinci Code, a thriller set in the art world and involving a conspiracy about the true identity of the Holy Grail, has sold more than 17 million copies around the world and become one of the publishing events of the last decade.

It has already spawned a thriving industry related to some of the location and sites featured in the book.

Already, guides in the French capital offer tours exploring areas featured in the book, and some of the theories linked to the work of Renaissance artist Leonard da Vinci, a key character in the book.

The film will start shooting in Paris in May

A production team for the film has already visited the venue to scout for locations in the Grand Gallery, where the Mona Lisa is kept.

Louvre director Henri Loyrette told France's Inter Radio: "We have agreed in principle. There is really a very strong desire to see the film adaptation of this book, which is world famous, shot at the Louvre."

The gallery has already been used in film shoots before. The French horror thriller Belphegor (1999), about a ghost which haunts the famous art museum, was partly shot there.

The filming is likely to take place at night and on Tuesdays, when the museum is closed.