With a record 199 individuals and organisations nominated for the prize this year, the list of possible laureates is long and varied, featuring such names as Irish U2 rock star Bono, the late pope John Paul II and former US secretary of state Colin Powell.

Many observers however feel this year's prize, which will be announced in Oslo on October 7, will go to a person or a group working to halt nuclear proliferation, and Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organisation of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombs, has been tipped as one of the favourites.

"The more I think about it the better the Nihon Hidankyo sounds," said Gunnar Soerboe, director of the Christian Michelsen Institute, a human rights research group.