BERLIN -- U.S. President George W. Bush is to create the "office of global communications", hoping to reverse America's negative image worldwide, the online site of the weekly *** Spiegel *** reported here Tuesday.

The new formal office, expected to take up its work by fall, will be responsible to put a "positive spin" on U.S. foreign policy following a steady rise in anti-Americanism throughout the globe.

The office, headed by a yet-to-be-named "counselor to the president", would assist the White House Coalition Information Center, adding "thematic and strategic value".

The White House Coalition Information Center was formed shortly after the U.S. military invasion in Afghanistan last fall.

The "office of global communications center" is to act independently from the U.S. State Department, according to the report.

U.S. military activities in the Middle East, specifically the Persian Gulf region, have triggered fears of a full-scale war.