England soccer star David Beckham has been approached by Steve Martin, the American comic, for a role in the forthcoming Pink Panther film.

Martin, who will succeed Peter Sellers as the bungling French detective Inspector Clouseau, contacted Beckham's office in Madrid this month to ask if he would do a cameo role, the Times said.

Beckham, who would play alongside Jean Reno and the pop star Beyonce Knowles, is said to be considering the part, the report said.

Caroline McAteer, the footballer's spokeswoman, said that he was aware of the offer and was considering his options. He would appear as himself as Clouseau attempts to solve the murder of a famous football coach and the theft of the Pink Panther diamond.

It would be Beckham's first Hollywood role.  He has previously appeared in Bend It Like Beckham and Mike Bassett: England Manager, but only in archive footage.

According to the report, in March last year publicists for Bend It Like Beckham relied on Mia Hamm, the American women's soccer captain, to promote the film because Beckham was too unfamiliar.

Beckham would not be the only footballer to turn his hand to acting. Pele and Bobby Moore also displayed their acting skills in the 1981 film Escape to Victory, in which a team of Allied prisoners of war including Sylvester Stallone beat an elite German team.