Meryl Streep believes the Oscars are like a political campaign

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) will count the 5,816 ballot papers before sealing the results in foil-lined envelopes that will be kept secret until the ceremony on 23 March.

To add to the suspense, only PWC collators Greg Garrison and Lisa Pierozzi will know who has won before the envelope is opened live on stage on the night.

As a war in Iraq looks increasingly likely, Oscars ceremony producer Gil Cates said it will reflect the world situation but that the show would go ahead.

The ABC network, which screens the ceremony, said it may break from the Oscars to give viewers news updates or provide up-to-date information at the bottom of the screen during the event if the war is on.

While actors and directors await the results, gamblers in the UK have placed so many bets on the musical Chicago to win best picture that Ladbrokes bookmakers has closed the books.

It is now only taking bets on how many awards it will win.

Chicago, starring Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere, has been nominated for 13 awards.

Complicated

Before Ladbrokes closed the books on Chicago winning, it was offering odds of 4-7.

Rob Marshall is favourite to pick up the best director award for the movie, but Nicole Kidman is evens to take the best actress award, beating Zellweger's odds.

Meryl Streep, who has been Oscar nominated a record-breaking 13 times, is to present her first Academy Award.

She is also nominated for best supporting actress for her performance as novelist Susan Orlean in Adaptation at this year's ceremony.

But she has become disillusioned with the Oscar voting process, calling it as complicated as political campaign.

"The whole campaigning thing seems kind of unseemly to me, so I haven't really done that," she said.

"I hope the work stands on its own, but I fear, like in politics, money wins."

She said she understood the business reasons behind studios pushing a film but said it "kind of destroys the integrity of the Academy Awards".