Chorzow, the Polish city always considered to be the rank outsider in the three-city race, is no longer being considered as a candidate, according to EME News, an athletics industry newsletter.

That leaves a straight contest between Beijing, which staged the 2008 Olympics, and London, the 2012 hosts, when the IAAF's ruling Council makes a decision at a meeting in Monte Carlo in November.

The race between two of the world's most high-profile cities is set to be a major boost for the beleaguered IAAF, who are facing financial problems caused by the economic crisis and who announced that they will have to make $20 million (£14 million) worth of cuts.

Britain has never hosted the World Championships.

The award of the 2015 event to the capital would have ramifications on the future of the Olympic Stadium, which has been the subject of serious interest from Premier League football club West Ham United.

Under the original plans, the 80,000-capacity stadium will be reduced to a 25,000 athletics stadium after the Games.

If that proposal goes ahead - and London's bid is successful - then an extra 12,000 seats would be added for the World Championships.

It is the third time London has bid to host the World Championships in less than 15 years.

in 1997 it put forward Wembley to host the 2003 edition but had to withdraw when plans for the stadium to include an athletics track were controversially dropped.

They were then subsequently awarded the 2005 World Championships when Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to build a stadium specially for the event at Pickett's Lock.

But the event was taken away from London and awarded to Helsinki after the Government reneged on its promise, a decision that threatened to undermine London's bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Chorzow, located in the middle of the largest urban centre in Poland, the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, has a population of only 100,000 compared to Beijing's 22 million and London's seven million. 

Their bid was always doomed because of its lack of facilities but has promised to improve them in time to bid for the 2017 World Championships.

It is another blow for the city which also missed out on the opportunity to host matches during the 2012 UEFA European Championships, which Poland is co-hosting with Ukraine.

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