'The leaders of 12 South American nations have formed a regional body aimed at boosting economic and political integration in the region.
At a summit in Brazil, they signed a treaty which created the Union of South American Nations (Unasur).
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the move showed that South America was becoming a "global player".'
This is part of the plan for a centrally-controlled American Union, a mirror of the European Union, that would span the whole of the Americas. This South American Union is designed to eventually fuse with the North American Union that is also a long way down the road to being introduced.
