From Kabul with love: James Bond 'to take on Afghanistan'

He has tackled Goldfinger, Scaramanga and Blofeld, but James Bond could soon be turning his attention to the poppy fields of Afghanistan.

• Speculation has arisen that at least some of the next Bond movie will take place in Helmand province in Afghanistan after a member of the Foreign Office’s drug task force in the country reportedly signed on as a consultant for the franchise.
• According to online reports on James Bond fansites, the official, who has since left the Foreign Office and Afghanistan, is thought to have signed a confidentiality agreement with the filmmakers preventing any discussion of the project.
• Should 007 tackle the opium fields of the country, it will be the second time he has ventured into Afghanistan. In the 1987 film The Living Daylights, Bond, played by Timothy Dalton, was imprisoned in a Russian camp in the country, before teaming up with anti-Soviet freedom fighters.
• Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care, written to commemorate Bond creator Ian Fleming’s centenary last year, also concerned the drug trade in Persia (now Iran), although Bond producers have previously ruled out a film adaptation of the novel, set in the Cold War.
• Eon Productions, the production company set up by Bond producer Albert Broccoli, refused to comment on whether the film would visit Afghanistan.
• The 23rd Bond film will be Daniel Craig’s third outing as the suave British spy, following the hugely successful Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
• The plot of the new Bond film, expected to be released in 2011, is a closely guarded secret.
• Afghanistan produced 93 per cent of the world’s opium in 2007, although production fell slightly last year to 7,700 tonnes from a previous 8,200 tonnes.