A PLASTIC MODEL OF THE WORLD LONGEST SUSPENSION BRIDGE LINKING SICILY TO ITALY'S MAINLAND, 2002-06-06 (photo)

An undated file photo of a plastic model of what is to be the world's longest suspension bridge, a mega-span linking the Italian mainland to the island of Sicily across the torrid straits of Messina. After years of uncertainty, Italy committed itself on Thursday to building the world's longest suspension bridge, a mega-span linking the mainland to the island of Sicily across the torrid straits of Messina. "This time we're going to do it, I promise you," Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told reporters with a beaming smile as he left a cabinet meeting where the decision was taken. Infrastructure Minister Pietro Lunardi declared, in the same conference, that the first stone of a bridge would be laid by the end of 2004 and should be done within five or six years of a project set to cost 4.6 billion euros ( $4.3 billion). REUTERS/Tony Gentile VP