Top students from Asian countries, including India, will be receiving funding to study in Australian Universities under a government scholarship programme worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The biggest overseas education plan funded by Canberra is expected to be one of Australia's most tangible contribution to the East Asian community, which will be discussed at this week's Asean and East Asian Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

The scholarship scheme would benefit students from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan, The Australian newspaper reported.

The scheme to be undertaken under the 'Federal Government Scholarship Programme,' is expected to be formally announced by Australian Prime Minister John Howard this week during his visit to Kuala Lumpur for the East Asian Summit.

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Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said, 205,000 students from East Asian countries including India are already studying in Australia.

"I think those numbers will increase and we will have a substantial number of students studying in Australia on scholarship programmes," he said.

This scholarship programme is a new version of the Colombo plan that brought 20,000 Asian students to Australia between 1951 and 1980.

The programme will also have the provision of Australian students to study in Asia.