"This is the third-highest number of nominations we have had," the secretary of the Nobel committee and head of the institute, Geir Lundestad, told AFP.

In 2005 a record 199 nominees were put forth, and in 2006 there were 191. Out of the 181 nominations this year, 46 are for organisations.

The five-member Nobel committee never reveals the names of the nominees, and keeps its list secret for 50 years.

However, those who are entitled to submit nominations -- a wide-ranging list including parliamentarians, former Peace Prize laureates, current and former Norwegian Nobel committee members -- are free to reveal their choices.

As a result, Al Gore is known to have been nominated by two Norwegian MPs for his efforts to limit global warming, while four Bosnian civil groups have nominated Mahathir for helping Bosnia after its bloody civil war.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has also been nominated by Indian and Latin American organisations.

Speculation is already rife in Oslo as to who the others on the list could be.

According to the head of the Oslo Peace Research Institute, Stein Toennesson, possible names include former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, a negotiator of peace treaties in Aceh and Kosovo, and Chechen human rights activist Lidiya Yusupova.

Others include Rebiya Kadeer, a leader of China's Uighur Muslim minority, who lives in exile in the United States, and Thich Quang Do, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk fighting for democracy while living under house arrest.

Yet other names circulating are Taiwanese activist Shih Ming-The, US talk show host Oprah Winfrey and UN AIDS envoy to Africa Stephen Lewis.

The EU is also seen as a possible winner, as the organisation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Rome treaty that established the organisation.

Lundestad has suggested in previous years that the EU would be a good recipient of the prize. However, current difficulties with the EU constitution may hurt the organisation's chances.

The winner of the prize will be announced in October.

Last year, Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh and his Grameen Bank took the honours.

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