Washington - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday she has no interest in becoming a vice presidential candidate on presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's ballot for the White House.

Rice, who for years has denied presidential ambitions herself, was asked on FOX News whether she would be interested in the nation's number two job.

"Obviously it's dearly flattering to have people think that way, but no," Rice replied. "It's time for me to go back to Stanford."

Rice took a leave of absence from her academic career at California's Stanford University to serve as President George W Bush's national security adviser. She later moved into her current post running foreign policy.

She has consistently said she will return to academia after Bush leaves office in January.

"I've got six months still to try to complete some of the important tasks that the administration has taken on," Rice said. "The president has got a very active agenda. We are going to sprint to the finish, and then I'm going to sprint back to the West Coast."

With the primary season over and the presidential election set for November 4, speculation has swirled about who McCain and the presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, will choose as their running mates.

Both campaigns have brought in advisors to begin sifting through lists of potential candidates. (dpa)