Can celebrities save world trade talks?

WASHINGTON, Mar 11 (Reuters) British rock star Chris Martin leapt onto the Washington stage, driving screaming fans wild as he belted out one crowd-pleasing hit after another.

As dazzling lights and glitter burst around the charismatic Coldplay frontman, captivated fans could have been forgiven for missing the ''Make Trade Fair'' logo inscribed on the singer's piano at the concert.

But if the hundreds of signatures collected by Oxfam volunteers during the Washington show this month were any measure, the message was not lost.

While using celebrities to front charitable campaigns is not new -- the 1985 ''Live Aid'' concerts for Ethiopian famine victims made it cool to care -- putting famous faces to work on dry-as-dust trade issues is a fresh idea.

Movie stars Brad Pitt and Heath Ledger are among those who have expressed an interest in trade and the developing world.

And with global trade talks going down to the wire before a year-end deadline for a deal, the big names may multiply.

''Having Chris Martin and Coldplay be frontmen for 'Make Trade Fair' has elevated the trade debate (and) piqued people's interest.

Politicians realize the world is watching,'' said Oxfam spokeswoman Lyndsay Cruz.

The current Doha round of trade talks between nearly 150 member countries of the World Trade Organization has limped along for 4 1/2 years.

So far, little progress has been made on a pact to lift millions out of poverty and boost the world economy by slashing subsidies and tariffs that hobble international trade.

But now there is new urgency: in mid-2007, US President George W Bush is due to lose his power to approve trade deals with minimal congressional involvement, which would make any eventual deal agreed after then harder to ratify.

So the world's trade ministers are hastily scheduling extra meetings and urging their peers to take action. Meanwhile, development agencies are pressing celebrities into service.

In the past month, lobbyists in Washington have been abuzz with talk that Irish rocker Bono -- fresh from a successful campaign to urge world leaders to cut developing world debt -- would take on the WTO, adding his voice to numerous agencies pushing rich nations to make more concessions and cut a deal.

MORE REUTERS DKS SSC1028