CHILDREN as young as eight could soon be speaking Italian, Russian and Zulu thanks to a competition for primary school pupils.

Last year's competition winner, Lucy Smith, from Teesside, won a trip to Lapland after learning Spanish, Greek and Saami (Lappish) over ten months.

The idea came from Richard Howeson, chairman of language software specialists Euro Talk, who believes Britain could be top of the language class if children were given more motivating opportunities as well as traditional classroom learning.

He said: "That sounds like a daunting task, but children across the country will tell you otherwise, proving that languages are no barrier to the new generation if the initial approach is right."

The Euro Talk Junior Language challenge 2004 aims to raise £10,000, from a £2 entry fee per child, for the Thare Machi Starfish charity, which is dedicated to providing learning on DVD for some of the poorest women and children in the world.

This year's winner will be flown to South Africa as an ambassador for Britain, to open one of the classrooms bought with the money raised by the contest - and have the chance to test their Zulu language skills.

The competition begins with Italian. The top scorer from each region will then advance to Russian, and the semi finals, with the highest scorers learning Zulu.

Schools can contact Euro Talk on 0800 018 8838 or register at www.eurotalk.co.uk