G8 Talks: Bid To Help 'Arab Spring' Nations

Barack Obama and David Cameron have joined other world leaders for a G8 meeting in France where uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East will top the agenda.

The two-day summit will provide the leaders with their first real opportunity to debate the "Arab Spring" sweeping the autocracies of the Arab world.

The British Prime Minister and US President are expected to put forward plans to give more financial and political backing to these countries.

On Wednesday the two leaders repeated their calls for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down.

The push came as Nato continued to bombard Tripoli in its campaign against Colonel Gaddafi and his forces.

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama, who finished a three-day state visit to Britain on the eve of the summit, reiterated their determination to keep up the military pressure on the Libyan regime.

But Nato's campaign in the country could cause tensions among the G8 leaders meeting in Deauville, as Russia has expressed concerns about the extent of the airstrikes.

There is also significant scope for friction over Syria, with Moscow resisting efforts to take action on the regime's brutal repression of protests.

A resolution is due to go before the United Nations Security Council later.

The US and UK are expected to urge counterparts to provide more concrete financial support for fledgling democracies.

Washington has been calling for "debt swaps", where wealthier nations agree to convert sums they are owed by countries that are implementing change - such as Egypt - into investments.

The G8 - made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and America - is also due to be briefed by the recently-installed prime ministers of Egypt and Tunisia, Essam Sharaf and Beji Caid el Sebsi.

The summit will begin later today with a session on nuclear safety in the wake of the crisis created by the earthquake in Japan.

Also on the agenda for discussions include the situation in Afghanistan, global economic development and reform, and internet regulation.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has insisted he wants the internet to be at the heart of the summit.

A delegation of executives, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google chairman Eric Schmidt, are due to address the world leaders.

Although no Twitter representatives are thought to be on the guest list, the session could provide an opportunity for Mr Cameron to take the temperature on international internet regulation.

The social networking site has been at the centre of controversy after the identities of celebrities alleged to have taken out privacy injunctions in the UK were repeatedly tweeted.