The party is publishing four million copies of the letter - in typed characters and Thaksin's handwriting. When the prints are finished today the party will deliver the copies to people through its MP candidates, he said.

He said the party planned to publish three or four letters a month by Thaksin whether he is at home or abroad.

The letter-writing idea, and Surapong mentioning Thaksin's possible trips abroad, came amid rumours of a coup d'etat, coupled with speculation that Thaksin might go into exile.

Surapong said the letter was not a reaction to any criticism of the government. It was simply a method of communication that goes beyond the usual limits of time and space in the ordinary media.

As the party will be reporting the printing expenses to the Election Commission, he does not believe it will violate the election law, he said.

In the letter from Helsinki, Thaksin wrote: "During the meeting, I had the chance for bilateral talks with many representatives from Asian and European countries, to promote a better understanding between the countries as well as more co-operation and new markets especially for agricultural and industrial prozducts. A product in trouble is chicken.

"Moreover, we talked about confidence in Thailand. The money we have in the country is not enough to create prosperity and wealth for the people. We need much more investment from abroad. From the talks, I believe investment will return to Thailand again after the election and the new government is appointed," he wrote in the letter.

He also wrote that he had promoted His Majesty the King's Sufficiency Economy philosophy, the government's drug suppression policy and tourism in Thailand. Piyanart Srivalo, THE NATION