The new office in Moscow will help customs points around the country improve communication and will provide expert analysis.

"The new command centre shows the seriousness of Russia's continuing effort to prevent smuggling," US deputy ambassador to Moscow Daniel Russell said at a press conference.

The Russian customs service issued a statement saying there had been 200 attempts to smuggle radioactive material into and out of Russia in 2004.

The new centre will link customs offices with nuclear experts in Moscow through video and e-mail to monitor suspicious cargo and will set up a clear chain of command in the customs service to block nuclear smugglers, officials explained.

"We're really talking about a faster data transmission system. The quality of information is much better," Russell said, explaining that communication was previously mostly through telephone contacts between Russian customs offices.

At the opening, Nikolai Kravchenko, head of Russia's service for customs control of nuclear materials and radioactive sources, said the new centre cost between 400,000 and one million dollars (330,000 to 830,000 euros) but could not specify the exact amount.

The office is part of the US Department of Energy's Second Line of Defense programme, which has spent 35 million dollars (29 million euros) to assist Russia in preventing illicit nuclear materials and equipment from crossing the border since 1998.

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