The broadcasts, due to begin in mid-December, are the latest salvo in a U.S. campaign of "public diplomacy" aimed at presenting U.S. policies, culture and institutions in a better light in the Middle East following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Sceptics suggest that if the broadcasts appear to be biased they will do little to help the U.S. cause in a region where there is deep resentment about Washington's support for Israel and profound misgivings about any U.S.-led war against Iraq.

It is also unclear whether the broadcasts may blunt unhappiness at tangible U.S. actions since 11 September 2001, such as the greater delays some Muslims face in obtaining visas for emergency medical care and studies in the United States.

U.S. officials said their idea is to bring in an audience of Iranians under the age of 30 and to present America in an unbiased light that, over time, may improve attitudes toward U.S. policies.

The idea is based on "Radio Sawa", a U.S.-funded broadcast in Arabic, which U.S. officials say have won a strong following in the Middle East since they began in March but which some listeners like more for the music than for the news.

"But if we lead with something that is attractive to an audience, and we use proven broadcast techniques and research ... then we can deliver a large audience to our news and public diplomacy message," he added.

Kim Andrew Eliot, who conducts audience research for the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau which operates the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Sawa, said the best approach was to present unvarnished, unbiased news coverage.

"I have been doing international broadcasting audience research for 25 years, and I am not aware of any persons huddled by their radios to hear about the achievements and values of the United States or any other country", he wrote in an opinion piece published by The New York Times on Saturday.

"Public diplomacy ... manages information to put the United States and its policies in the best light", he added. "This is exactly the type of pro-government reporting that audiences seek to escape by tuning to foreign broadcasts."

Shibley Telhami, a Middle East analyst at Washington's Brookings Institution, said Radio Sawa had won market share among Arab listeners mainly for its music but said it was an open question whether its news would improve the U.S. image.

"The real issue is how that is going to translate into influencing opinion in a manner that improves the perception of the United States", Telhami said. "That is a big, tall order".

Pattiz said Radio Farda's news would not be slanted and he argued a dispassionate presentation of U.S. policy would, over time, get a hearing from a population that now gets a "skewed" view of American policy from largely state-controlled media.

"In terms of the Middle East, there is a media war going on. The weapons of that war are hate radio, disinformation, incitement to violence, government censorship and journalistic self-censorship", he said.

Editor’s note: The British international news agency Reuters filed the above article on 20 November.