STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Sweden and Austria have received requests to imprison former Liberian President Charles Taylor if he is convicted of war crimes by a U.N.-backed court, government officials said Wednesday.

A positive answer by the Scandinavian country would remove a key obstacle to transfer Taylor's trial from the U.N.-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone to The Hague, Netherlands.

Several diplomats at the United Nations told the AP on Tuesday that no country wants to have Taylor for 20 or 30 years - either in jail or in exile.

Court officials have asked that the trial be moved because of fears the 58-year-old Taylor, who has been charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone and was once among the most feared warlords in the region, could still spark unrest in West Africa.

In Vienna, Foreign Ministry spokesman Georg Schnetzer said Austria had been asked about accepting Taylor, but pointed out that "the legal basis for this to happen does not exist at the moment."

He declined to say specifically if Austria had refused the request, and did not clarify what the necessary legal basis would be.

Sweden, a strong supporter of UN-backed international justice that has proved willing to accept imprisoning convicted war criminals before, confirmed Tuesday it had received a request to host Taylor.

"Sweden and other countries have been asked" by the U.N. whether they would be willing to have Taylor serve a prison sentence there, Swedish Foreign Ministry Cabinet Secretary Hans Dahlgren told The Associated Press.

Dahlgren declined to reveal which other countries had been contacted, or what Sweden's position was, saying only that the request was being reviewed.

A Swedish diplomat in New York said Sweden was likely to make an announcement about Taylor on Thursday, the same day the U.N. Security Council was to consider the resolution that would transfer his trial to The Hague.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks about Taylor's future were secret, refused to give any indication about what Sweden's decision would be.

A Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman said his government was in contact with only one country about accepting Taylor, but would not confirm that it was Sweden.

The Dutch government has insisted it will only allow the trial in The Hague if he is transferred to another country after the verdict, regardless if it is a conviction or acquittal.

Taylor is accused of backing brutal rebels in Sierra Leone during a 1991-2002 civil war and trafficking in guns and diamonds while president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003.

Meanwhile in Miami, Taylor's son was ordered held without bail Wednesday on U.S. passport fraud charges.

Charles McArthur Emmanuel, 29, also known as Charles "Chuckie" Taylor Jr., was arrested last week at Miami International Airport. U.S. immigration officials said he lied about the identity of his father on his application for the passport.

Emmanuel, a U.S. citizen, was head of Liberia's Anti-Terrorist Unit during his father's term, with responsibilities including training of soldiers on that force and providing security for Taylor.