Day of protests in Prague

Traffic was brought to a brief halt on Wenceslas Square

There has been a day of protests in the Czech capital, Prague, with a number of small demonstrations and marches ahead of next week's meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Anti-globalisation protesters - ranging from anarchists and communists to skinheads and ardent anti-capitalists - were out on the streets, although in smaller numbers than many had predicted.

You should not regard us as a black, evil force. Our objectives are very similar to those of the people in the streets

World Bank head James Wolfensohn

The action affected the main hotel district where about 2,000 delegates attending the annual meeting of the World Bank and the IMF, which starts on Tuesday, are staying.

At one point, several anarchist protesters brought traffic to a halt on Wenceslas Square for about two hours, chanting anti-capitalist slogans in a mostly peaceful demonstrations.

Shortly afterwards, another column of about 1,000 people from various communist and far left parties arrived, waving red flags, and portraits of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Che Guevara.

They also held aloft banners proclaiming "Our world is not for sale" and "For work, peace and friendship."

Peaceful atmosphere

Police helicopters hovered overhead but the relatively small number of policemen present merely directed cars away from the marchers.

Prague has been gripped by fears of violent repeats of the rioting that marred the World Trade Organisation meeting last November in Seattle.

Far-left and communist groups staged peaceful protests

But correspondents say it was a generally calm atmosphere and passers-by did not seem to feel threatened.

One man watching the protest told the BBC he was glad there was no violence and he respected people's right to voice their views peacefully.

There were brief scuffles, however, at a central Prague metro station between the left-wing and anarchist demonstrators and skinheads, who had been demonstrating in another part of the city.

'Feed the poor'

There were also demonstrations at Prague Castle, where the Czech President Vaclav Havel was hosting a debate between financiers, the World Bank and IMF critics.

Some of the protesters displayed T-shirts with the names of poor countries, numbers of starving people and the amount of the countries' foreign debt.

One poster read: "When you eat think of them!"

World Bank chief James Wolfensohn said his organisation should not be regarded as a force of evil and darkness; he insisted it too was working to reduce world poverty.

A rally has been called for Tuesday, when organisers say 20,000 people will attempt to block the convention centre where the World Bank and IMF are meeting.