SECRET talks are being held to build an enormous snow dome in Southampton, the Daily Echo can today exclusively reveal.

A 200m slope would be covered with tonnes of fresh real snow every day and become the skiing mecca of south England.

The indoor ski, snowboard and tobogganing dome would be the top attraction in a multimillion- pound leisure centre called Xscape Southampton.

Developers X-Leisure have held meetings with Southampton City Council's planning chiefs and are understood to be scouring the city for potential sites.

It is expected Xscape Southampton could attract up to four million visitors a year from across the south and pump millions into the local economy.

Shops, bars, restaurants and extreme activities such as indoor skydiving, rock climbing, an aerial assault course and a skateboard park could all be housed under one roof.

Xscape has already proved hugely successful in Milton Keynes, Leeds and Glasgow since the first centre opened almost eight years ago.

The newest Xscape opened in Glasgow in 2006 and more than 1,000 people were hired to work at the £70m centre.

The scale of each of the landmark buildings is huge.

Spanning about 450,000 sq ft, the footprint is the size of six football pitches and you could fit nearly four double-decker buses on top of each other inside the center.

The Daily Echo understands that a preferred location in Southampton has been identified, however we are unable to reveal it due to commercial confidentiality.

An Xscape spokesman confirmed that lengthy talks with the city council were ongoing.

"We have a requirement to put an Xscape in Southampton and we have identified a number of sites," he said.

"However, we are at least three years away from starting construction."

The spokesman said the potentially huge catchment area surrounding Southampton was the prime draw-card.

There is no charge to go inside and look around the existing centres - visitors are charged for what activities they do.

For example, a one hour ski session during off peak (9am to 5pm weekdays) costs £16 and any other time costs £21.

A city council spokesman said: "We get many approaches from companies seeking to develop in the city. We consider all proposals and evaluate them based on their affordability, feasibility and the benefits for the people of Southampton.

"It is encouraging and exciting that so many people are approaching us with the wish to base themselves in Southampton."

For the full story see today's Daily Echo