Foreign students in Malaysia will be allowed to work as temporary tour guides as part of efforts to boost tourism, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said today.

"This is part of our effort to improve the ability of tourist guides so that visitors to Malaysia can feel more comfortable," Najib was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Tourism Minister Leo Michael Toyad said students who could speak Arabic, Spanish, Korean, French, Russian and other languages were welcome to apply.

"This kind of experience can be an inducement for them to choose Malaysia to further their studies," said Toyad.

Students to take short course

He said students chosen for the positions would undergo a short course about the industry.

Malaysia was hoping to lure 20 million tourists in 2005, earning the country RM35 billion.

Tourism is Malaysia's second-largest foreign exchange earner, grossing about RM30 billion in 2004 from 15 million visitors.