Agra, Sep 18 (IANS) Tourists coming to the Taj Mahal city will soon be able to enjoy an audio-visual extravaganza and a laser show on the historical monument and Shah Jehan, the Mughal ruler who built it.

A private initiative by the Oswal Tourism and Travel Group here, the tourist attraction would be at a new auditorium being built near the Shilpagram, a crafts village on the eastern side of the Taj.

The initiative, which will unfold the love story of Shah Jehan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, will definitely be a reason for visitors to stay back in the city for the night, said Ashok Kumar Jain of Oswal Tourism while announcing the project.

The show is scheduled to begin in January 2007.

The one-and-a-half-hour programme will be complete with cultural, architectural and historical highlights. It would centre on a 12-foot-long marble model of the Taj, which will dazzle in different shades of light and colour through laser beams.

The audiences will have the choice of listening to the programme in 12 different languages.

A promo of the programme, aptly titled "Mohabbat - the Taj", was shown at the recently held Indian Tourism conference in Jaipur.

Apart from Shah Jehan's story, audiences will also get glimpses of the culture of the Braj region and the colourful Indian festival of Holi.

Jain added that he is currently preparing a set of 24 promotional films for tourists. "Monuments alone cannot keep their interest alive, they need some good engagements for the evening also," he said.

Meanwhile, the tourism industry here is looking forward to the coming tourist season beginning Sep 27 - World Tourism Day. Hotels have already registered a decent number of bookings and a number of conferences are on the tourist calendar.

Civic authorities, on their part, are gearing up to upgrade the infrastructural facilities the city has to offer.

The Fatehabad Road leading to the Taj is being widened and a number of malls have also opened on this vital stretch to lure customers.