Delegations from several European nations also flew to Asia to join commemorations at the site of the disaster, in which well over 200,000 people were killed and many are still missing.

No European country was as severely impacted as Sweden, which suffered 543 known dead, slightly more than the 537 people killed from Germany which has a population several times larger.

Three official ceremonies were scheduled in Sweden -- one in the capital in the presence of the royal family and Prime Minister Goeran Persson, and the others in the cities of Gothenburg and Malmoe.

In Norway also, an official ceremony was taking place in the presence of King Harald V to remember the 84 Norwegians known to have lost their lives in the tsunami.

Thousands of Europeans were enjoying the sea and sunshine for their year-end break when the tsunami struck, instantly shattering the lives of millions.

"One of the things we learned is that the scale of the disasters that can afflict situations abroad is much bigger than anyone can anticipate," said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

Candles were lit at each of the three Swedish ceremonies to recall the country's victims, who were among about 20,000 Swedes on holiday in the area when the great wave struck.

In Stockholm about 300 people, some of them survivors, others friends and relatives of the dead and ordinary citizens, braved sub-zero temperatures at a park, where the memorial candles formed a long alley on the snowcovered ground as thick flakes floated in an icy wind.

More than 400 Swedes also took part in an emotional beach-side ceremony in the Thai resort of Khao Lak, that included flowers, incense and music. After the 90-minute ceremony, which was broadcast live on Swedish television, families waded fully clothed into the sea and released traditional Thai offerings to the dead.

Delegations also arrived from several other countries, including 150 people from Britain accompanied by junior foreign minister David Triesman and 27 Dutch citizens accompanied by Interior Minister Johan Remkes. About 50 Swiss and 100 Norwegians were also among the foreign visitors.

Of the 5,400 people killed in Thailand, about half were foreigners from 37 different countries.

While no official ceremonies were scheduled in Germany, the minister for development and foreign cooperation, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, said the country would not forget any of the victims of the catastrophe.

She pointed out that Germany has invested 45 million euros (53 million dollars) to furnish Indonesia with 10 instrument-loaded buoys that will form part of the tsunami detection and warning system now being built in the Indian Ocean.

In London, Straw acknowledged that the scale of the disaster on the other side of the world had taken the government by surprise, and he apologized to those who thought the Foreign Office had not reacted efficiently enough.

"Most Brits who have lost a relative or suffered themselves directly in the course of the tsunami got an appropriate service," he said. "Sadly some did not and we have apologized to those who did not."

In Sweden also, Foreign Minister Leila Freivalds, who received similar criticisms of inefficiency and late response, said she would not attend the official ceremony in Stockholm because she acknowledged that news of her presence there "has sparked reactions" from victims' families.

In Paris, the minister for tourism, Leon Bertrand, recalled the 95 French victims and stressed the importance that France pays to reconstruction and the development of a new tsunami alert system in the region.

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