The first cash to fund Czech research stemming from Prague's agreement to host part of a US anti-missile shield should be sent by month's end, a Czech scientist told the CTK news agency Tuesday.

"The US must make the first pilot payment by September 30," Vladimir Marik from Prague's technical university said.

The research funds will be one of the issues under discussion between Czech deputy foreign minister Tomas Pojar and his US counterpart William Burns in Washington Thursday, CTK reported.

Washington has promised to bankroll selected Czech research projects as part of the wider agreement that it site a US anti-missile base on its soil.

The centre-right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has highlighted the opportunity for Czech scientists to plug into top-flight US research cooperation and funding as one of the main spin-off benefits for the Central European country.

The US and Czech Republic signed the main diplomatic deal for a anti-missile radar to be built around 70 kilometres (55 miles) southwest of Prague in July, with Poland agreeing to a batch of 10 interceptor missiles last month.

Washington says the shield is aimed at defending the United States and its allies against an attack from rogue states such as Iran, but the plans have riled Moscow which has denounced them as an attack on its own security and threatened reprisals.

Czech and US negotiators are close to finalising a second deal covering the conditions for US servicemen based at the radar, with expectations this will be tied up by the end of the month.

That would pave the way for Topolanek's fragile government to put the twin agreements to a vote in parliament, where it is far from winning a majority for the controversial foreign base.

US experts are at the moment sifting through a shortlist of eight projects from publicly funded research institutions and private firms in such fields as robotics, laser technology, medicine, radio-location technology, nano science and special crystals, the news agency said.

No overall figure for possible US research funding has been disclosed.