Gerard James Borg, one of Malta's most established songwriters, has made it to Norway's finals for the Eurovision Song Contest with a pop song called Velvet Blue.

This year Norway opted out of an open contest and instead NRK, the Norwegian broadcaster, handpicked artists, composers and songwriters and invited them to write a song for the festival Melodi Grand Prix.

Mr Borg's song, composed by Norwegian Arve Furset for Kathrine Strugstad, has been short-listed among the eight entries chosen for the finals, being held on March 5 at the Oslo Spektrum.

This multi-purpose arena, with a seating capacity of 9,000 people, has hosted some of the biggest names in show business, including Elton John, Destiny's Child and Christina Aguilera.

Mr Borg described the song as haunting and mysterious, a pop song which could work very well on any international dance floor.

The songwriter has been behind three Maltese entries at the Eurovision Song Contest - Desire, On Again... Off Again, and 7th Wonder, interpreted by Ira Losco, which placed second in Estonia in 2002.

In 2003, together with composer Philip Vella, he penned Heatwave, which was selected for the Dutch finals and placed fourth out of 500 entries.

This year, together with Mr Vella, he penned Déjà Vu for Olivia Lewis, which placed second in the local finals last Saturday.

Ms Strugstad, who will perform the song Velvet Blue, is a fresh voice in the Norwegian dance pop scene. She is an experienced performer and dancer, described as having remarkable appeal.