The Council for Regulatory Reform released a report Tuesday calling for establishment of so-called special regulatory reform zones, backing the government's deregulatory efforts.

The panel's proposal came in the interim report of an annual update of the government's three-year deregulatory program adopted in March 2001. It is the first time the advisory panel has proposed such a plan.

The zones are intended to bring about radical regulatory reforms within specific areas that, if successful, might pave the way for nationwide reforms.