The organisers of the 2010 London Olympics are believed to have approached Danny Boyle, who directed the international box office hit "Slumdog Millionaire", to direct the opening ceremony of the games.

Ever since the spectacular opening of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the British organisers have been concerned about their own production qualities. They seem to be of the view that Boyle is their answer.

They believe Boyle has the perfect credentials to mastermind an event that will have a live audience of about 80, 000 and be seen by billions around the world on television.

"Slumdog Millionaire" is proof of his ability to bridge cultures and that would help to portray Britain as an open, diverse society, the organisers believe.

Boyle, who lives near the site of the Games in east London, told The Times newspaper what he thinks of the Games' opening project, irrespective of whether he is finally chosen or not: "It feels like it's a project that will bed itself in the East End and do a lot of good."

The organisers are clear about one thing though: they won't be matching the Chinese scale of the inaugural ceremony.

Paul Deighton, chief executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog), was quoted as saying: "I am not sure how many countries would have either the resources or indeed the controlled resources to put on an event like that. I doubt we will have 20, 000 people doing things in unison in our opening ceremony. That's just fine. That's the beauty of the contrast."

Incidentally, the inaugural ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was also directed by a film personality - Zhang Yimou, director of the award-winning film "House of Flying Daggers".