WHEN Condoleezza Rice comes to Blackburn tomorrow she will have arrived at "the centre of the world", so says The Shuttle Blackburn with Darwen Council's free newspaper.

But while East Lancashire is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Alabama's famous daughter her visit to Blackburn is hardly front page news back in the states.

Hometown papers such as the Birmingham Times carry no mention of the visit on their websites.

Even major media companies like CNN are giving the trip limited coverage stating how she will "visit Blackburn, a former cotton town 30 miles north of Manchester" and adding: "Rice will visit an industrial site and meet religious leaders including those from the 20 per cent Muslim population."

And US experts are not surprised their country is not getting excited about a trip hosted by Mr Straw. He left American residents bemused when Dr Rice showed him around Alabama in October.

The trip was to promote understanding of the Anglo-American alliance but some Alabamans were not aware of who Mr Straw was. At a statue-unveiling, he was introduced by speakers as Mr Shaw and Mr Snow.

US-born Dr Will Kaufman, an expert in Anglo-American relations at the University of Central Lancashire said: "I'm not surprised at the lack of media coverage in America most Americans couldn't say where Blackburn was.

"The only interest will be whether there are any protests and the sense of it being an extension of her being on a world stage.

"The whole country has been impressed at how she has become the hardest working Secretary of State. She is popular with Alabamans."

But despite experiencing anonymity, Mr Straw did receive warm welcomes on his visit including a trip to Dr Rice's former school in Alabama. Union Jack waving pupils greeted Mr Straw and staged a mock session of the Houses of Parliament.

A reporter from the Birmingham News, Alabama said: "We don't normally cover anything unless she's here.

"It's probably not something we'd be interested in.

"I don't think people here will even know where Blackburn is. It's just not really a big event for us.

"We covered his (Jack Straw's) visit when he came across but only when he was here in Alabama."

Although the itinerary of the Blackburn trip is under wraps for security reasons, Mr Straw is expected to show Dr Rice around a local school, a factory and Ewood Park.