DEAUVILLE, France - Leaders of the Group of Eight began gathering in France on Thursday to endorse aid to new Arab democracies, but wrangling among Western and developing economies over who runs the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may take up much of their time.

Officials from the G8 - the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia - had held preparatory talks on Wednesday in the seaside resort of Deauville to hammer out common positions on issues ranging from the world economy to Libya's civil war, Iran's nuclear goals and unrest in Syria.

Hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the summit runs until Friday. It is expected to approve a multi-billion-dollar aid package for Tunisia and Egypt, after "Arab Spring" uprisings deposed their leaders, and to seal an agreement to back others in the region who want Western democracy.

Protests against other allies of the West, notably in the oil-rich Gulf, are, however, unlikely to win clear assistance.

"We share a compelling interest in seeing the transitions in Egypt and Tunisia succeed and become models for the region," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote in a letter to the G8 on Wednesday.

"Otherwise, we risk losing this moment of opportunity."

G8 leaders arriving in the faded casino resort may have to fend off challenges to western Europe's grip on the post of managing director of the IMF, the global lender. The position was left vacant by the dramatic departure of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a Frenchman who is charged with the attempted rape of a New York hotel maid.

Reuters