An American businesswoman is determined to win the 2012 Olympics bid for her city.

　　No, not New York.

　　London.

　　Barbara Cassani, the former chief executive of no-frills airline Go, was appointed on Tuesday to chair the bid committee seeking to bring the Olympics back to the British capital for the first time since 1948.

　　It's believed to be the first time any Olympic bid has been led by a foreigner.

　　Cassani, 42, is married to a British investment banker and has lived in London for 13 of the past 17 years. The couple have two children.

　　"I'm a Londoner - first and foremost, that's what I am," said Cassani, who hasn't lost her American accent. "I've spent most of my adult life here. I've built a home and a business here. I have my children in schools here. It's reallyswheresI've made my life."

　　"Given that 25 percent of the people in London weren't even born in the UK, that makes me a very powerful advocate," she said in an interview.

　　Cassani has no qualms competing against the US bid from New York.

　　"That's all right," she said with a laugh. "They can come in second."

　　In addition to London and New York, the declared bidders for 2012 are Paris; Moscow; Madrid, Spain; Leipzig, Germany; Havana, Cuba; and Istanbul, Turkey. Brazil plans to enter either Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. Toronto is expected to be a candidate if Vancouver, British Columbia, is not selected host of the 2010 Winter Games.

　　The International Olympic Committee will select the 2012 host city in 2005.