"Reporting from Pittsburgh - Leaders of the world's biggest economies gathering here for the Group of 20 summit have agreed that the organization will replace the Group of Eight as a permanent body for international economic cooperation, the White House announced late Thursday.

"The change reflects the world's shifting economic powers and a need for the U.S. and the traditional European powers to secure the cooperation of fast-growing economies such as China, India and Brazil to make progress on pressing issues.

"The G-8 -- made up of the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia -- has been criticized as an elite, anachronistic body that couldn't get much done because the main issues they faced often involved emerging nations that weren't at the table."

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