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Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has called in a new audiotape for the world to boycott American goods and the US dollar, blaming the United States and other industrialised countries for global warming.

In the tape, aired in part on Al-Jazeera television today, bin Laden warns of the dangers of climate change and says that the way to stop it is to bring "the wheels of the American economy" to a halt.

He says the world should "stop consuming American products" and "refrain from using the dollar," according to a transcript on Al-Jazeera's website.

The new message, whose authenticity could not immediately be confirmed, comes after a bin Laden tape released last week in which he endorsed a failed attempt to blow up a US airplane on Christmas Day.