The Nobel Committee met today to pick the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize from a record field of 194 candidates.
Egyptian-born anti-weapons campaigner Mr Mohamed El Baradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is tipped as a favourite.
Other top contenders include former Czech President Vaclav Havel, South African AIDS treatment campaigner Mr Zackie Achmat and his Treatment Action Campaign or the European Union.
Five committee members, appointed by Norway's parliament, met at the Nobel Institute in central Oslo around an oval table with photographs of winners since 1901 on the wall. Not even the names of candidates are published.
The name of the winner of what many consider the world's top accolade will be announced on October 8th from a field of 144 individuals and 50 organisations. The 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.34 million) prize can be split up to three ways.
Several experts said campaigners against the spread of weapons of mass destruction could be honoured in 2004 through the IAEA and Mr El Baradei.
A prize to the IAEA and Mr El Baradei would be topical because of the organisation's efforts to get Iran to freeze uranium enrichment activities and its work in North Korea and Iraq, he said.
A drawback for Mr El Baradei could be that the 2004 prize went to Iranian human rights lawyer Ms Shirin Ebadi - the committee might not want to focus attention on Tehran again.