WASHINGTON (AFP)--The U.S. hoped Wednesday that India would soon announce the location of two sites for U.S. firms to build multi-billion dollar nuclear power plants, in line with a landmark deal struck last year.

The announcement could be made when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Mumbai and New Delhi from Friday through Monday, according to Robert Blake, her point man for relations with India and neighboring countries.

"We hope that (we) will be in a position to announce publicly those two sites where U.S. companies can have exclusive rights to locate reactors and sell reactors to the Indians," Blake told reporters ahead of the trip.

"That's a major opportunity for American companies, and opens up as much as 10 billion dollars worth of exports to India," said Blake, the assistant secretary of state for south Asian affairs.

The Wall Street Journal, quoting people familiar with the issue, reported Wednesday that India has already chosen sites for the U.S.-built reactors.

But it said the announcement probably won't lead to immediate contracts for firms like GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse Electric Co. to begin building plants.

In October, then secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and her Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee signed a pact to open up sales of civilian nuclear technology to India for the first time in three decades.

The deal offers India access to U.S. technology and cheap atomic energy in return for allowing U.N. inspections of some of its civilian nuclear facilities - but not military nuclear sites.

Blake also raised hopes for a deal on "end-use monitoring" that analysts say would clear the way for military sales because it would allow Washington to make sure military equipment is used for its stated purpose.

"We hope to be able to sign that and obviously that would take place on Monday of next week," Blake told reporters when asked about the chances for such a deal.

Evan Feigenbaum, who was deputy assistant secretary of state for south Asia under the administration of George W. Bush, said the deal got "hung up on some technicalities...and the clock basically ran out" when Bush left office.