Vienna - London's famous wax museum Madame Tussaud's said Tuesday it wanted to take over the running Vienna's giant Ferris Wheel, one of the city's main attractions.

In an interview with the Austrian press agency, Johannes Mock, of Merlin Entertainments, the group running Madame Tussaud's, said the Ferris Wheel would present ideal synergy effects for a planned outlet in the Austrian capital.

Negotiations with the current owner about renting the 65-metre wheel and surrounding locations were ongoing, Mock was quoted as saying. Buying it however, was out of the question.

"The Ferris Wheel in Vienna is unaffordable," he said.

The current owners confirmed the negotiations, and said they were open for talks regarding renting out the tourist attraction.

"I, as the Ferris Wheel's (owner) would welcome a deal with Madame Tussaud's," owner Peter Petritsch said.

The Ferris Wheel, which was built in 1897 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the accession of Emperor Franz Joseph I to the Habsburg throne, would be the eighth addition to Madame Tussaud's international franchise.

The company, with its famous life-like celebrity statues, runs wax museums in Las Vegas, New York, Washington, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Shanghai and plans to open a museum in Berlin in July. (dpa)