The opening ceremonies for the 2006 World Cup could be held at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's best known symbol.

　　Munich will host the first match on June 9, but German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and leading members of his Social Democrats have pushed for the celebration to be held in Berlin - breaking the World Cup tradition of staging the two events in the same place.

　　Berlin officials' said on Sunday they favored holding the opening ceremonies at the famous 65-foot gate, one of the German capital's leading tourist attractions, prominent in the eras of Napoleon and the Nazis.

　　"Naturally we want to hold the party at the most attractive place in Berlin, Brandenburg Gate," said Thomas Haertel, Berlin's secretary of sports.

　　The World Cup organizing committee would prefer Berlin's Olympia-stadion, the site of the 1936 Olympic games and the stadium where the 2006 World Cup final will be played in July.

　　But the committee has only reluctantly endorsed splitting the opening game and celebrations in different cities, an idea which has been pushed by the Social Democrats.

　　A final decision will be made in March, but it appears the government's influence will lead to opening ceremonies being held in Berlin.

　　"It's all but decided," German Interior Minister Otto Schily said last week.

　　German media have speculated the current government threw its weight behind Berlin because Schro-eder fears giving his chief rival Edmund Stoiber, governor of Bavaria, an opportunity to gain exposure in 2006 elections.

　　Stoiber's Christian Social Union party is headquartered in Munich, the Bavarian capital. Primaries for the 2006 elections will be held in June while the World Cup is underway.

　　Napoleon and his troops marched into Berlin in 1806 and took the Quadriga - a foursome horse and cart atop the gate - back to Paris as a sign of victory. The Germans brought it back to its original perch in 1814.

　　The massive gate also became a symbol of Nazi Germany, with Adolf Hitler's fascist troops marching through the huge pillars carrying torches.