Hurt Locker and Avatar face off at Oscars

The race has been spiced up by the fact that The Hurt Locker’s director, Kathryn Bigelow, is the ex-wife of Avatar director James Cameron.

Bigelow is also tipped to beat her former spouse for the best director Oscar which would make her the first woman in history to win the award.

Clear favourites have also emerged in most of the acting categories.

Sandra Bullock is a hot choice for Best Actress for her role in the drama, The Blind Side, while popular veteran actor, Jeff Bridges, is expected to claim his first Oscar for his portrayal as a washed-up country singer in Crazy Heart.

French director Jacques Audiard's A Prophet is among the candidates for Best Foreign Film. But it faces stiff competition from Germany's The White Ribbon, the winner of this year's Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film festival.

Sunday's ceremony is a major television event and will be beamed live to more than 100 countries. Actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin host the show.

In a new move, the organisers have urged winners of the coveted statuettes to avoid dull acceptance speeches which comprise a list of names.

Oscar winners who do not abide by the 45-second time limit on speeches face possible sanctions, including the use of orchestral music to drown out a recipient's words or simply switching off the microphone.