It has a 7.62mm general purpose machine gun

More than a hundred of the armoured vehicles have been commissioned in a �60m project secured by the Defence Procurement Agency which is based at Abbey Wood in Bristol.

Commandant General Royal Marines, Major General Rob Fry, said: "The Viking will mark a significant change in the capability of the corps."

Allied to new classes of naval ships now under construction, it would equip the Royal Marines for a "leading role" in the European Joint Rapid Reaction Force.

'Potential crises'

"The Viking is a key element in the reorganisation of our combat formations and its entry into service will equip the corps to deal with a very wide range of potential crises," he said.

The Viking is due to enter service in 2003 after testing in the UK, Oman and Norway.

It consists of two tracked armoured units linked by a steering mechanism.

The vehicle can travel at 65km/h on the road and 5km/h in water, and has a road range of 300km.

It weighs up to 10.5 tonnes and is still mobile if one of the tracks is damaged.

The vehicle has moulded rubber tracks and armoured steel panels which can protect against some direct fire and anti-personnel mines.