Pittsburgh, Sep 25 - Reflecting the growing economic clout of India, China, Brazil, and other fast-growing developing countries, the G20 will permanently replace G8, the once elite club of rich industrial nations, as a global forum for economic policy.

The Group of 20 - leaders of 20 countries representing 90 percent of the world's economic output - meeting here for a two-day summit will make the announcement later Friday as they wind down their deliberations focusing on the financial crisis and how to avoid one in future, the CNN reported.

The move comes in the wake of a major push by President Barack Obama, the channel said citing senior US officials. The G20 will now essentially eclipse the G8, which will continue to meet on major security issues but carry much less influence.

'It's a reflection of the world economy today and the players that make it up,' said one senior official. Nations like China, Brazil and India - which were locked out of the more elite G8 - will be part of the larger group.

'We're meeting at a time where, for the first time since London, certainly for the first time in a year, we're seeing the first signs of optimism about prospects for global recovery,' US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told reporters Thursday.