British Prime Minister Gordon Brown heads Saturday for a tour of oil-rich Gulf states, hoping to persuade them to give extra funds to help countries hit by the world economic turmoil. Brown will spend four days in the region holding talks with leaders as he pursues his efforts to help coordinate the global response to the world economy's dramatic plunge. Earlier this week, he said he wanted the International Monetary Fund's 250 billion dollar bailout fund for countries hit by the financial crisis to be extended to prevent "contagion" spreading to other nations. The former finance minister, who has seen his struggling premiership boosted by his handling of the economic woe, added that he wanted Gulf states and China to be among the biggest donors to an expanded scheme. "It's the countries that have got substantial reserves, the oil-rich countries and others who are going to be the biggest contributors to this fund," he said Tuesday. "I am going to the Gulf at the weekend and it is one of the items that will be in the discussions with all the international leaders." Brown said he has discussed the plan with IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The IMF is set to bail out Hungary, Ukraine and Iceland, while Pakistan is reportedly poised to apply for IMF assistance over its balance of payments crisis. But Brown could face a struggle to persuade the Gulf states, despite strong historic and trade links with Britain.