Pierce Brosnan says he should be the next Bond

Brosnan, 50, has already been asked to resume the role, despite reports that producers want a younger actor.

"The producers last year invited me back, and I said 'yes'," Brosnan said at a Mexican press conference.

But the actor said producers were in a "malaise of confusion as to how to go forward" with the franchise, he added.

Brosnan is in Mexico shooting the film The Matador. When asked who he thought should be the next Bond, Brosnan leaned toward the microphone and said: "Me.

Box-office favourite

"They [the Bond producers] know where to find me if they want me for the next one," he said.

Rumoured replacements for Brosnan have included Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman, who has become a huge star as Wolverine in the X-Men films.

Brosnan has been playing the secret agent since Goldeneye in 1995, and has been widely praised for revitalising the Bond series.

The last movie, 2002's Die Another Day, was the most successful in the 42-year history of Bond films.

Brosnan's four films - Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day - have made more than $1.5bn (�830m) at box offices.

The next Bond film is due to begin shooting in 2005.