(Reuters): Greece plans to set up "special economic zones" to attract private investment and help lift its debt-laden economy out of depression, the government said on Tuesday. The zones would offer investors tax and administrative advantages. Athens is already in talks with the European Commission to get approval for the move, Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis told a news conference. "We believe these zones will boost the real economy by creating a special regime to attract investment and generate exports," Hatzidakis said. The announcement comes as Greece is struggling to breathe life into its ailing economy, now in its fifth consecutive year of recession. Special economic zones have been used by developing economies, notably China, to spur growth.

Structural reforms such as wage cuts and liberalization of closed-shop professions loom large in an European Union/International Monetary Funds bailout plan to save the country from a chaotic bankruptcy and possible exit from the euro.

But Athens has criticized the plan for being too long on austerity and too short on economic recovery measures.

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