But Mongolian planners and American entrepreneurs hope the tiny town where livestock outnumber people on the main rail link between China and Russia will one day become a major gambling and resort destination.

Mongolia's ministers of trade and finance and its central bank governor are to be on hand for the signing ceremony at a posh Washington hotel on Thursday, timed to mark the 800th anniversary of the coronation of Genghis Khan.

"Genghis Khan ruled so much of the world for 150 years," Winwheel chairman Kim Sun-jin said in a phone interview. "This is a good chance to bring down the Great Wall and for China and Mongolia to be commercially integrated."

It wasn't immediately clear where Winwheel is based, although its Web address, which said "under reconstruction", is registered in Mount Vernon, Missouri.

The dusty railway depot, about 560 kilometers (350 miles) northwest of Beijing, lacks the artesian springs that helped lure settlers to the Nevada oasis that has grown into a glittering worldwide tourism attraction.

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