Strong interest to keep G8 as leader group-Canada

OTTAWA, July 6 (Reuters) - There is strong interest by several countries to keep the Group of Eight as the core world leadership group, a senior Canadian government official said on Monday.

The Group of Eight is made up of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia, and its meetings frequently include the participation of leaders of other major economies, the official said.

The leaders of the G8 will meet with leaders of several emerging economies such as Mexico, India and African nations in the central Italian town of L'Aquila this week. Global recovery plans are expected to be the main focus of the talks. (Reporting by Randall Palmer and Louise Egan. Writing by Ka Yan Ng; Editing by Peter Galloway)