Mbeki plans a state visit to France in November

Deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad said the president would discuss the matter with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac, who had earlier declared that he is in support of the rival Moroccan bid.

"I'm not saying [that the 2010 bid] will be part of the agenda of the visit, but we would have to talk to the French, like we are talking to every country that has a vote in deciding the World Cup," Pahad said.

Former France international Michel Platini is a member of the 24-man Fifa executive committee that will select the 2010 hosts.

The Sowetan, a South African daily, said the country's 2010 bid committee has asked Mbeki to personally intervene by protesting to Chirac about his support for the north African nation.

"We hope the [French support for Morocco] is not cast in stone," Pahad said.

Presidential spokesman Bheki Khumalo said the government remained solidly behind South Africa's bid and backed the committee's demand to seek the president's help in promoting the country's cause.

"The bid committee was perfectly entitled to seek an audience with the president on this matter," Khumalo said.