"Russia may adopt a currency board at some point in the future," the Hungarian-born investor and philanthropist told journalists on Thursday after a panel discussion at the council on foreign relations to introduce his newly published book.

A currency board, an inflexible system pegging the local currency to another one and tying cash in circulation to bank reserves, "would stabilise the situation and be a great advance," Soros argued.

Earlier in the day, Stanley Fischer, deputy head of the International Monetary Fund, also suggested a currency board may be possible even though it would be very tough for Russia, which relies heavily on exports of oil and other commodities.

The timing for such a regime however remains uncertain, Soros said, noting it would probably not be implemented until after parliamentary elections had been held.

"I don't think the conditions are suitable now," Soros said, noting that another six months would likely pass before Moscow may consider the issue.

At that time, a currency board would probably be pegged to the euro, the common currency that 11 European nations plan to adopt in January, Soros said, joking that the Canadian dollar might also be a suitable currency.

The Canadian dollar has been weakening against the US dollar, hurt by a rapid decline in commodity prices.

But analysts predict the euro will be relatively strong at its launch, partly due to the optimistic outlook for European growth despite the global economic crisis.

Soros has been widely blamed for accelerating Russia's existing financial crisis by suggesting, in a letter to the Financial Times newspaper, a currency board along with a devaluation of the rouble.

Moscow's defacto devaluation of the rouble and debt default on August 17 triggered a 60 per cent decline in the currency's value and sparked months of global financial turmoil from which Latin American markets are only now recovering.

Soros admitted he was slightly surprised by the market's robust recovery but warned "the problems are not yet over and it would be a pity if people became too complacent" following recent improvements.

While Soros credited rescue packages for Brazil and hedge fund Long Term Capital Management as well as decisive US interest rate cuts for stabilising markets, he also blamed the International Monetary Fund for fostering problems.

"One of the big mistakes was giving the job (of assisting Russia) to the IMF," Soros, adding that the money sent to Russia was not properly earmarked for social programmes. Instead much of it was spent on trying to support the rouble.

Soros, who was reported to have made $1 billion in betting against the British pound ahead of its ignominious exit from the European Union's currency grid in September 1992, however refused to be drawn out on his current investment preferences.

"I am not at liberty to disclose it," he said, evading questions of whether he would invest more money in Russia in the future.