A town in Russia is eager to form a twinning link with a community in Oxfordshire - and Wantage appears to be the favourite.

The Vale of White Horse District Council has received a letter from Oca, a town which has a friendship link with Oxford. It is in the Perm region, which has a partnership with Oxfordshire County Council.

Oca wants to form a cultural and educational link with the Vale and also would like to liaise on social welfare issues.

Wantage has been mentioned as a possible twin for the Russian town and the Vale's European Relations sub-committee is to explore the possibility with Wantage Town Council.

Oca lies to the south of Perm. Although predominantly a rural area, there are oil reserves and some pharmaceutical industries. It has a special school for children with learning disabilities.

Meanwhile, a town in Hungary has decided it cannot afford to establish a twinning link with the Vale of White Horse. Last year the Vale was in correspondence with the town of Gyor about the possibility of forging links and asked if officials would like to visit Oxfordshire for an exploratory visit.

But although Gyor is still interested in a partnership with the Vale, it said that at the moment it does not have the capacity to enter into a new link, even with EU funding. The Hungarian town says it is "heavily committed" to projects in its region.