Evangelicals meet to convert to West

Thousands of followers of the American evangelical preacher, Billy Graham, have gathered in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, for a week-long tribute to him.

People from more than a-hundred-and-eighty countries are taking part, many of them from the developing world.

The BBC religious affairs correspondent says the conference believes third world countries will have a leading role in evangelism during this century, and many are keen to convert the West to their brand of Christianity.

But our correspondent says there was disappointment when the eighty-one year-old Mr Graham -- who suffers from Parkinson's disease -- failed to make a planned address through a video link from the United States.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service