The name`s Chile, but to 007 and his film crew it`s Bolivia

It was possibly the most exciting thing ever to have happened in a desolate corner of northern Chile. Life in Antofagasta looked set to change forever when the producers of the James Bond films came to town, followed by 007 himself, Daniel Craig - reports The Guardian.

Mindful of Bond's association with glamorous locations, Chilean officials welcomed the invading army and scented a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the port on the tourism map.

So they were crestfallen to discover that producers of the forthcoming 007 blockbuster Quantum of Solace had a different vision. It involved recruiting extras and dressing them up - as Bolivians. Tourism officials and politicians now fear Antofagasta will lose its claim to fame and, worse still, be presented as belonging to poverty-stricken Bolivia, which for years has been Chile's bitter rivals across the Andes.

Roddiam Aguirre, of Chilean tourist board Sernatur, said: 'When we agreed to the film being shot in Chile, we did it because we thought it would bring us many benefits. We had hopes of showing the world our image through a production this size. If the film is going to take place in locations that simulate an Andean or fictitious country, we're not going to benefit at all.'

The two South American nations, which have a history of bad blood, severed full diplomatic relations 30 years ago. Chile, an invaluable ally of Britain during the 1982 Falklands conflict, is one of the continent's richest countries. Bolivia, which is still smarting over the loss of its Pacific coast to Chile after a five-year war nearly 125 years ago, is one of its poorest.

Marc Forster, director of Quantum of Solace, is thought to have picked Antofagasta and the nearby Atacama desert as locations after visiting the region two years ago. Craig flies in to start filming tomorrow.

Hundreds of locals auditioned as extras after producers offered the chance to take part in the film, which follows the worldwide success of Craig's debut in Casino Royale

But the casting directors singled out dark-skinned individuals and seemingly dressed them to look like the indigenous people of Bolivia, who traditionally favour native languages over Spanish and helped to elect Evo Morales as the country's first indigenous Indian president two years ago.

Maria Ayara Encina, whose two children, Solange and Elias, took part in the final casting session, said: 'My little ones are dark-skinned and that's why they got as far as they did. They dressed my daughter up in a long black skirt, white blouse and black shawl and put a hat on her before making her act out a scene as a Bolivian girl drawing water from a well.'

The move has been criticised by leading Chileans. Novelist Hernán Rivera Letelier, who grew up in Antofagasta and whose award-winning books are printed in several languages, told La Cuarta newspaper: 'I don't think it's bad that they have come to make this film in Chile. But if they want to dress us up as Bolivians, they're better off going to Bolivia itself. The locations they've chosen are beautiful, but all that's lacking on the extras seems to be a feather and a loincloth.'

London-based Eon Productions is thought to be planning to film a plane crash in the Atacama desert as one of the action sequences in the movie, which is due to have its premiere in London in October.

There has already been trouble at the film's previous location, Panama, where the set was affected by rioting construction workers after police shot dead a union leader.

Thanks to `shadowonthesun` for the alert.

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