Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's deputy offered a gesture of conciliation on Monday, as pressure from street protests, Western allies and the army appeared to be ending Mubarak's 30 years of one-man rule.

After a week of unprecedented rallies against poverty, corruption and oppression under the 82-year-old military-backed leader, newly-appointed Vice

President Omar Suleiman appeared on state television to say Mubarak had asked him to begin dialogue with all political forces on constitutional and other reforms.

The channel later said talks had begun. Opposition leaders, including Nobel laureate and democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei, have indicated that they are prepared for such a dialogue.

But demonstrators, ranging from young, secular dissidents to a mass Islamist movement, want Mubarak to quit altogether.

They hope to rally a million people onto the streets on Tuesday and have taken heart from an assurance from the army that it will not fire on them as they air their "legitimate" demands.

However Mubarak showed no sign that he is intending to step down, clinging to power on Monday night as the army gave a boost to protesters by stating it would not use force against them.

With Reuters