Italy is offering an unspecified number of passenger ships to accommodate world leaders during a forthcoming summit in the port city of Genoa -- as shelter from antiglobalization demonstrators.
According to Japanese government sources, Italy has asked the other Group of Eight major countries to put up their huge armies of government officials aboard one or more cruise liners anchored at piers along Genoa's port.
The request was made during a meeting of senior officials from the G-8 countries held recently to prepare for the three-day Genoa summit, which will start July 20, the sources said.