MELBOURNE -- Melbourne has been selected as the host city for the 2004 Track Cycling World Championships, the Victoria state government announced on Friday.

The government released a statement saying Melbourne had beaten a rival bid from the French city of Bordeaux to stage the championships from May 26-30, less than three months before the Athens Olympics.

The five-day championships will be held at the new multipurpose indoor arena at Melbourne Park, home of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

The same venue will also be used to stage this year's junior world championships in August, Reuters reported.

The last time Australia staged the senior world championships was at Perth in 1997.