ATHENS -- Fourteen writers from across the world have started writing a collective work of fiction along the lines of the "Odyssey", Homer's epic saga from Greek mythology, reported AFP.

The 300-page book, which bears the provisional title "Global Novel", is part of the cultural events around the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and is bankrolled by the Greek government. Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the project would help "civilize globalization".

"As soon as a text is complete, it will be immediately available on an Internet site which we will create. Upon reading it, the next writer will start writing his part," explained Andaios Chrysostomidis, head of the Foreign Literature Department at Kastaniotis, the Greek publishers of the novel.

The final book is expected to be published in Greek around Christmas. A team of 24 translators will put the text into 12 more languages.

Eleven prominent authors from around the world are taking part in the project, joined by the three Greek writers George Skourtis, Alexandros Asonitis and Lena Divani. The authors gathered in Athens last week to discuss the book's plot and deadlines.