Da Vinci Code sails toward summer shoot

Hollywood stars will converge on Lincoln Cathedral this summer to shoot the film adaptation of controversial novel The Da Vinci Code.

Producers of the multimillion-dollar film have signed a deal to use the building as a double for London's Westminster Abbey.

Tom Hanks will play hero Robert Langdon in the screenplay of Dan Brown's best-selling novel. French actress Audrey Tautou, star of Amelie, and Oscar-winning director Ron Howard, as well as British actor Sir Ian McKellen, are also taking part in the film.

The Louvre Museum in Paris has also given permission for filming to take place there.