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The new Diamond League will take place in 14 cities in Europe, the United States, China and the Middle East when it is launched next year, according to the IAAF.

Germany, long an athletics stronghold, was the most notable absentee from the schedule after Berlin Golden League meeting organisers said they would not be joining the Diamond League.

"After long considerations and many talks, we have decided to not join the Diamond League at present," Gerhard Janetzky, managing partner of meeting organiser LVG GmbH, said in a statement on the website.

Organisers will continue discussions with the International Association of Athletics Federations about the future integration of the Berlin meeting into the international athletics calendar.

More than 60,000 attended Sunday's launch of this year's Golden League circuit in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, which will host the IAAF world championships from August 15-23.

Berlin is the only member of the current six-city Golden League not participating in the new Diamond League.

The Diamond League's General Assembly approved the addition of Doha and Rome to the original 12 venues at a session in Berlin on Monday.

"The meetings in Doha and Rome fulfilled the necessary criteria of membership and were accepted into the IAAF Diamond League," the IAAF said.

The league is scheduled to begin its inaugural season in Doha on May 14 and conclude in Brussels on August 27.

Britain, the United States and Switzerland each have two meetings on the circuit.

The British meetings will take place in Gateshead and London with Lausanne and Zurich hosting meets in Switzerland. New York City and Eugene, Oregon are the US venues.

The Diamond League was announced in March as a means of increasing interest in athletics through head-to-head competition.

Athletes with the most points in each event at the end of the series will be awarded a four-carat diamond worth approximately $80,000 (£48,598), the IAAF has said.

The 2010 Diamond League schedule:

May 14-Doha, 23-Shanghai.

June 4-Oslo, 10-Rome, 19-New York.

July 3-Eugene, 8-Lausanne, 11-Gateshead, 16-Paris, 22-Monaco.

August 6-Stockholm, 13-14-London, 19-Zurich, 27-Brussels.

Reuters