Governments, retailers and consumers across the Arab world have already registered their anger at Disney for allowing the Israelis to portray Jerusalem as the country's capital at its millennium show in Florida.

Esmat Abdel Meguid: one of Disney's harshest critics

The foreign ministers from the 22 member states of the Arab League will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting will be chaired by Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdel Meguid.

On Wednesday, the league's information committee recommended that two Arab pavillions at the Epcot exhibition should be used to promote Jerusalem as an Arab city.

The committee expressed "support for the Arab initiatives adopted to deal with Walt Disney's planned exhibit.

Letters of protest

The Palestinians complain of being pushed out of their "capital"

The Palestinian Authority called for a mail campaign against the Israeli-sponsored display.

Its ministry of information asked "all Muslim and Christian organisations wishing to show solidarity with the cause of the Palestinian people" to protest with e-mails or letters.

The suggested text reads: "I ask the Walt Disney Corporation to stop the broadcast of passages in the Israeli pavilion which portray the Arab city of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.

"Stop the features and displays in the Israeli pavilion which distort teachers from Arab civilisation - Christian and Muslim."

Israel captured the eastern part of the city in 1967 and has been in occupation of it in defiance of international law ever since.

Money matters

Disney stands to lose millions of dollars in Arab sales

Disney, which will open its Millennium Celebration at the Epcot centre on 1 October, said last week that the Israeli exhibit would not call Jerusalem Israel's capital.

But critics of the display - who include the Arab League Secretary-General - say the exhibit title may have changed, but the essential message of Israeli exclusivity in Jerusalem remains the same.

The Saudi Government said the kingdom would be the first to implement any decision adopted by the Arab League.

The Disney franchise holder in Qatar has said he might close down his store, while Arab satellite TV providers are on stand-by to pull the plug on Disney's Arabic-dubbed channel.

Officially, Israel considers Jerusalem its "eternal, undivided" capital, although no other country recognises it as such.

Even the United States maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv, although pro-Israel politicians have lobbied for full US recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.