Outspoken Belgian PM and EU president Guy Verhofstadt has launched a stinging attack on anti-globalisation protesters.

In an open letter to the protesters of Seattle, Gothenburg and Genoa, Verhofstadt warns that anti-globalisation radicals can veer towards the narrow minded nostalgia of far-right conservatives, racists or "religious fanatics who live and die by the Bible or the Koran".

"Surely, we owe the fact that we live in a multicultural and tolerant society to the process of globalisation?," he asks. "I thought that nostalgia for the narrow-minded societies of our forefathers was the sole domain of conservatives who glorify the past, of extreme right-wingers who believe in the superiority of their own race, and of religious fanatics who live and die by the Bible or the Koran."

The Belgian PM and EU president believes that the "protests unwittingly veer dangerously towards extremist, 'populist' right-wing views".

"The only difference is that you oppose multinationals because of the alleged harm they cause to the South, whereas the extreme right, such as Le Pen in France, condemns multinationals because he wants to retain control over his own economy," he writes.

Although praising "anti-globalisation protests [as] a welcome crosscurrent at a time when political life has become rather dull, sterile and technocratic" Verhofstadt is concerned with challenging the anti-globalist "paradoxes" and defending what he sees as the positive virtues of the global economy.

"What is suddenly so wrong with globalisation? Until recently even progressive intellectuals were singing the praises of a worldwide market, which, they said, would bring prosperity and well-being to countries where before there was only poverty and decline. And they were right," he writes.

Claiming that protesters are often confused as to what they want or stand for he asks, "What is your actual message?".

"Do you espouse the views of the [anarchist] 'Black Block', which violently opposes any form of private property? Or perhaps your views are better represented by the 'Slow Food' campaign, a mundane club that spreads chic pamphlets invariably stressing the importance of eating correct food in the better restaurants?."