WASHINGTON, Jan 15: Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former French health minister Bernard Kouchner were among the dignitaries playing the role of president of their respective countries in an exercise conducted here on Friday to explore how governments around the Atlantic would react to a biological terrorist attack in the region.

Under the scenario, presidents and prime ministers of several countries were gathered for a summit in Washington on Friday when they learned at 9am that a total of 51 cases of smallpox had been reported in Germany, Turkey, Sweden and the Netherlands.

An unknown group called the "New Jihad" was scripted as claiming responsibility for the attack, saying it was revenge for the West's oppression of Muslim countries.

Participants were asked to respond in real time as the toll mounted. After an hour, 240 cases had been detected in six countries. By the end of the morning, the count rose to 3,000 cases, including hundreds in the United States.

The scenario continued with stock markets collapsing, and thousands trying to flee cities. The debate centred around measures to take to avoid panic, and whether to administer smallpox vaccinations to medical and emergency workers, or to the general population. -AFP