Vladimir Putin is at the wheel of Russia's G8 summit - at least in the electric car with George W Bush.

Mr Putin showed off his own very first car - a tiny Soviet Zaporozhets making the modest Lada look like a limousine.

Saturday saw the first serious talks between the two presidents, ranging from the Mid-East to nuclear arms.

But the mood apparently remained good-natured between the two men despite lack of headway on issues like trade.

The presidential wives visited Pavlovsk, a tsarist palace outside St Petersburg.

Laura Bush joined her husband to pay tribute to the dead of Leningrad, as St Petersburg was known during the war.

The summit is well guarded with anti-aircraft missiles posted close to the venue.

Police are keeping a tight control over protests by communists and anti-globalists.

Some protesters have been allowed to set up camp in a sports stadium far removed from the venue.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi arrived for what will probably be his last G8 summit.