The American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has warned Albania against redrawing the map of the Balkans along ethnic lines.

Mrs Albright said during a short visit to the country that the international community would not tolerate attempts to create a Greater Albania.

Correspondents say that following the NATO campaign to expel Serb forces from Kosovo last year, there have been concerns that the province would end up as part of Albania.

In later talks with the country's leadership, Mrs Albright expressed concern over growing violence between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, and called for renewed efforts to keep the province multi-ethnic. Mrs Albright's one-day-visit was marked by heavy security, following American concern over intelligence reports that the Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, was planning attacks in Albania.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service