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Almost 400 athletes will take part in the third annual event, which takes place in the city from 7-13 May.

Four sports will form the programme - wheelchair basketball, cycling, swimming and athletics.

The event is one of the biggest multi-sport competitions for elite athletes with a disability outside the Paralympic Games.

BBC Sport will televise coverage of the event on 13 May.

The wheelchair basketball and cycling will take place at the Manchester Velodrome, with the swimming at the city's Aquatic Centre and athletics at the Manchester Regional Arena.

PARALYMPIC WORLD CUP SCHEDULE 7-10 May: Wheelchair Basketball (Manchester Velodrome) 11 May: Cycling (Manchester Velodrome) 12 May: Swimming (Manchester Aquatic Centre) 13 May: Athletics (Manchester Regional Arena)

The basketball takes place from 7-10 May with the Great Britain men's and women's teams both in action as they prepare for the European Championships later in the year.

The men will face world and Paralympic champions Canada, and Paralympic silver medallists Australia and the Netherlands, who were fourth in Athens, while the women will play Japan, Spain and France.

Cycling will be held on Friday 11 May, with swimming on Saturday 12 May and athletics on 13 May.

"The Visa Paralympic World Cup is a showpiece of some of the world's best sporting talent and has become a major part of the disability sport calendar," said British Paralympic Association chief executive Phil Lane.

"The seven-day festival of sport is a tremendous opportunity for Britain's elite athletes with a disability and aspiring Paralympians to compete in a major international competition ahead of the Paralympic Games.

"It will also help them get a taste for what it could be like to compete in front of a home crowd at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."