Acropolis museum to open in June: minister

The ultra-modern Acropolis museum, situated below the ancient landmark that defines the Greek capital Athens, will belatedly open in June, Greek Culture Minister Antonis Samaras said Sunday.

"We are preparing a jewel of a museum whose opening on June 20 will be a major, global event," said Samaras after giving European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso a guided tour of the venue.

The three-level museum, with a total area of 25,000 square metres (270,000 square feet), includes a section reserved for the disputed Parthenon Marbles, currently at the British Museum in London.

Greece is pursuing a campaign for the return of the priceless friezes, removed in 1806 by Lord Elgin when Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, which the British Museum refuses to repatriate.

Designed by Franco-Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, the Acropolis museum was supposed to open in time for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, but that target date fell by the wayside due to technical and bureaucratic hurdles.

Controversial plans for a lavish opening ceremony and global promotional launch -- at an estimated to cost six million euros (7.9 million dollars) -- were scrapped earlier this year.

Barosso said after his visit: "I believe that Greeks should be proud of this excellent museum. It is one of the world's most important for our heritage, the heritage of Europeans but also of world culture."