Strauss-Kahn, who met US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson here Thursday in a bid to cement his candidacy, told AFP in an interview that the IMF needs to restore its credibility.

The veteran French Socialist politican said the IMF is viewed in some quarters as having been an "instrument" of economic hardship and that it needs to work to change this perception.

Strauss-Kahn, the only candidate declared to date to succeed managing director Rodrigo Rato at the Washington-based institution, spoke en route to a meeting with the president of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, an American.

Following a flurry of consultations in the US capital, Strauss-Kahn will jet back to Europe and then head to Africa for further meetings aimed at shoring up his candidacy.

"The IMF should help all countries and people to benefit from globalization, not to suffer from it," Strauss-Kahn said.

Asked about possible IMF reform, Strauss-Kahn replied: "Above all, it will be necessary to restore the credibility of the International Monetary Fund. It's been seen as an instrument of economic hardship in many countries."

However, Strauss-Kahn judged it could take some years to overhaul the IMF and burnish its image.

"It's (reform) been addressed in a positive way, but it needs to be thought through more and there's still a lot to do," he said.

Aside from its role in international economic and financial crises, the Fund, which is headquartered near the World Bank and the White House in central Washington, has also been criticized for not having a more open selection process for its leader.

Responding to such criticisms, Strauss-Kahn said the process to select the next leader of the IMF should be as open and transparent as possible.

In an unwritten agreement, Europe selects the head of the IMF and the United States chooses the president of the World Bank. Zoellick, who was the sole candidate to head the World Bank, took office earlier this month.

Developing countries have protested for years against the cosy tradition and called for open competitions for both posts.

"The board stated three weeks ago that it had begun an open selection process," the French candidate said, adding "I believe this is absolutely correct."

He said that other potential candidates should not be excluded in running for the post and voiced hope that other candidates would emerge.

"There is no reason why the 'gentlemen's agreement' between the United States and Europe should persist," he said.

"I'm not ruling out that there will be other candidates; so far, no one else has declared himself, but I hope others will emerge," Strauss-Kahn said.

The IMF executive board launched on July 12 its search for a successor to Rato, who announced in late June he was resigning in late October, nearly two years before his term ends.

Three Frenchmen have held the managing director's job for more than 30 of the IMF's 61 years.

Strauss-Kahn said his meetings with US and IMF officials in Washington had gone well this week.