The select team led by the US National Academy of Sciences comprises leading American structural engineers and urban planning specialists who Monday held talks with Pakistani officials, the embassy said in a statement.

The experts, who between them have decades of experience in seismic zones, were here to begin consultations with the government and scientific community regarding earthquake reconstruction policy and planning, it said.

"The team's goal is to assist the Pakistani government and scientific community to develop policies and strategic reconstruction plans to ensure that the massive loss of life attributable to inadequate construction methods, materials and codes does not recur," it said.

The October 8 quake has killed more than 73,000 people and left around 3.5 million homeless mainly in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and parts of the country's North West Frontier Province.

Most of the deaths occurred when the massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake flattened homes, schools and government buildings and questions have been raised about poor construction practices.

The team members would draw on recent earthquake reconstruction experiences in India and Iran as well as the best US scientific and engineering resources, the embassy said.

The delegation also held talks with Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Zubair, as well as senior officials from the housing ministry and Pakistan Engineering Council.

They also met with the Higher Education Commission, the conduit to the Pakistani scientific community.

The experts are due to travel to the affected region on Tuesday to witness firsthand the impact of the quake on local structures.

From Wednesday to Saturday the team will conduct working level meetings with government policy-makers and members of the Pakistani scientific community, the embassy said.

The US has committed 510 million dollars for earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts.

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