Rocco was born in August 2000

Friends are reported to have said that their experiences on the two previous projects persuaded them that they could work well together in a film.

Ritchie is director of the acclaimed gangster films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

Madonna, whose latest album Music went to number one in 23 countries, has starred in a number of films before - with varying results.

She won praise for her role as Eva Per�n in 1996's Evita - but critics and fans did not think as much of her roles in Shanghai Surprise, Who's That Girl? and The Next Big Thing.

She is currently on the American leg of her Drowned World Tour.

Lock, Stock is one of Ritchie's film successes

This film will mark a change for Ritchie, whose previous films were black comedies set in the London underworld.

The original Swept Away was described as a comedy drama, and starred Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato.

No date has been set for starting production on the new film.

The couple are thought to have met through pop star Sting's wife Trudie Styler. Sting appeared in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, while Styler was one of its producers.

Laid-back

Madonna and Ritchie married in Scotland last December, and have one child, Rocco, born in August 2000.

Ritchie had said his next movie project would be a period blockbuster set during the Great Siege in Malta in 1565.

He remains laid-back about his love life, referring affectionately to Madonna as "the missus".

He described married life as "magnificent" earlier this year.