Jane Standley BBC correspondent in New York

New York is launching an international search to produce more designs for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site.

The city is to run advertisements in newspapers worldwide inviting the most innovative architects and planners to put their credentials forward.

Six initial proposals - all by a single New York architectural firm - have been heavily criticised for being uninventive and dominated by commercial office space.

The six original plans were rejected by New Yorkers

New York officials responsible for rebuilding at the World Trade Centre site were severely taken to task last month over the set of six initial plans they presented to the public.

Since then, they have been under pressure to find ways of scaling back the 11 million square feet of office space they had proposed for the site - as well as finding more inventive designs, and more space for a memorial.

International competition

After applications have been submitted, a shortlist of candidates will be asked to put new designs forward by November this year.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks on the World Trade Center

The new procedure is a significant climb-down for New York officials, who have been bombarded by critical comments through the public consultation channels they set up.

Now they are asking architects and planners to prioritise preserving what is known as the footprints of the Twin Towers - the space where they stood.

They have also been asked to allocate more space for open, public areas.

Essentially, the city is going on an international talent search to try and revive a process which is looking not just difficult and controversial, but now rather beleaguered after the failure of the initial set of designs.