The Taj Mahal was built to express an emperor's love for his wife

India's Supreme Court will allow the famous monument to love to open four nights a month, initially for three months.

The Taj, built in the 1600s by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a shrine for his wife, is a World Heritage site.

Only 400 visitors will be let in each night, and parking restrictions will be imposed around the marble mausoleum.

The Supreme Court announcement came as state officials in Uttar Pradesh were celebrating the Taj's 350th anniversary close to its site in the city of Agra.

State tourism minister Kaukab Hamid described the ruling as "heartening".

"This reopening of the Taj for moonlight viewing is going to draw fantastic crowds from across the globe," he told Reuters news agency.

"We will ensure strict security and follow visitor guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court."

Tourist chiefs said more than 300,000 foreigners visited the Taj Mahal site in 2003, but numbers are down since the terror attacks in the US on 11 September 2001.

Attack fears

Night visits to the Taj, once a romantic highlight of any visit to India, were banned in 1984 amid fears that militant Sikhs battling the government would attack the shrine.

The Sikh insurgency ended in the mid-1990s, but Indian authorities have remained reluctant to let visitors back to the Taj after sunset.

THE TAJ MAHAL More than 10,000 Indian and Persian artisans took 22 years to build it, from 1632 to 1654 1,000 elephants were used to transport materials to the site White marble terrace sits on sandstone base Cenotaph inside the dome is encrusted with jewels Legend has it that after its completion the hands of the artisans were chopped off so that they would not be able to build anything to rival it

During the height of tensions between India and Pakistan in 2001, officials drew up plans to camouflage the Taj to disguise it from possible Pakistani air attacks.

There were also fears that a militant Kashmiri separatist group, Laskhar-e-Toiba, was planning to try and blow up the shrine.

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as an expression of love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Situated on the banks of River Yamuna, the shrine is largely made of white marble that reflects the changes of colour visible during sunset and clear, moonlit nights.

It was designated as a Unesco World Heritage site in 1983, meaning the Indian Supreme Court must rule on major works or changes likely to impact on the site.

In 1996, there were fears that the sound system at a concert by Greek musician Yanni may have damaged the delicate marble structure.