President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he was keen to use Russia's planned global positioning system GLONASS to look after his black Labrador Koni.

"When can I buy hardware to equip my dog with so that she won't run away too far?" Putin was quoted as asking First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov during a briefing on progress towards developing a competitor to the U.S. GPS system.

Russia is working to expand GLONASS, a system which locates objects on the ground using orbital satellites, and make it available for civilian use. The project is part of the Kremlin's attempts to boost hi-tech sectors of the Russian economy.

"Producers will be able to offer collars for dogs and cats of commercial users in mid-2008," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Ivanov as replying.

(Writing by Oleg Shchedrov; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)