Sir Sean Connery is to join forces with Scotland's first minister to woo American tourists back to the country in the wake of the foot and mouth crisis.
Henry McLeish will join the former James Bond star on a week-long visit to the US, where Sir Sean will spearhead a drive to restore confidence in Scotland as a tourist destination.
The move is designed to combat the negative impact that images of burning carcasses and mass animal burial sites is having on the multibillion pound Scottish tourism industry.
The Scottish tourist industry is worth £2.5bn a year, the equivalent of 5% of the country's gross domestic product. It accounts for 180,000 jobs, making it Scotland's third-largest employer after health and education.
Experts fear as many as 36,000 of those jobs could be lost as the effects of the foot and mouth crisis are felt.
The news came as the government announced a new "tourism cabinet" had been set up to work out a foot-and-mouth recovery plan for the industry.
The cabinet, set up by the English Tourism Council, will update the government on the impact of the disease and oversee an advertising campaign to stimulate tourism over the vital Easter and May bank holidays.
Visits to Britain have slumped since the beginning of the outbreak and culture secretary Chris Smith warned it was costing the industry about £100m per week.
It was feared that figure could rise to as much as £250m if the disease was not under control by the time the main tourist season starts.
The tourism cabinet for England, due to meet on Friday, includes representatives from the ETC, the cabinet office, the British Tourist Authority, the National Trust and other industry bodies and individual attractions.
It will work on international, domestic and regional recovery plans for the industry.
And it emerged yesterday that British Airways is to launch an advertising campaign in the US to prevent a slide in passenger numbers as a result of fears over foot and mouth.
The airline plans to advertise on TV and in newspapers to convey the message that Britain is open for business.
