Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will meet President George W Bush during an official visit to the United States early next month, a spokesman said today.

"An official announcement hasn't been made, but there is a visit planned to the US," the spokesman for the premier told AFP .

The date for the trip had yet to be confirmed, but "would definitely be in the second week of May", he said.

"They will be discussing a lot of issues in the few days of the visit, definitely including terrorism and bilateral ties."

The spokesman said Mahathir had received an invitation from Bush. This will be his first visit to the White House since 1994 when he met Bush's predecessor Bill Clinton.

Relations between the two countries have improved after the September 11 attacks on the US, which has praised Malaysia's cooperation in efforts to combat terrorism.

Ties had soured in the past after Clinton's deputy Al Gore was seen to express support for anti-government demonstrators at an Asia-Pacific regional conference in Kuala Lumpur.