A burnt out car from Iraq, a meerkat family and giant ship-in-a-bottle are all vying for centre stage at one of London's most popular tourist spots, Trafalgar Square.

The artworks are among a shortlist of six sculptures competing for the chance to be displayed on the square's vacant fourth plinth, seen by masses of visitors each day.

The plinth in the north-west corner of Trafalgar Square was built in 1841 with the idea of one day installing a statue of a horse dedicated to a British military hero.

These days, however, contemporary artists clamour for the opportunity to have their works displayed there for a year or two.

London artist Jeremy Deller chose to make a political statement with his entry, a burnt out car destroyed during an attack in Iraq.

Insisting that the car was not an "artwork", Deller said it was deliberately "ugly" and inspired by the idea of how the spoils of war historically have been presented to the public.

Antony Gormley took a more light-hearted approach by proposing the plinth have a safety net installed around it so volunteers could take turns standing on it for an hour at a time, 24 hours a day.

He estimates that within a year about 8,760 people would take part and be allowed to take up whatever they wanted to entertain them on the plinth.

One of Britain's most renowned artists, Tracey Emin, created a sculpture of four bronze meerkats for her entry, noting that "whenever Britain is in crisis or, as a nation, is experiencing sadness and loss (for example, after Princess Diana's funeral), the next program on television is Meerkats United".

The tallest entry came from Bob and Roberta Smith, who want to install a 30-metre high illuminated peace sign, complete with its own solar panels and windmill to power its spotlights.

Indian-born artist Anish Kapoor hopes his series of five concave mirrors will help "turn the world upside down" for viewers.

The final entry from London-born Yinka Shonibare is a scale replica of Lord Nelson's ship, HMS Victory, inside a giant glass bottle.

Shonibare said the piece would reflect "the story of multiculturalism in London today, which began as a result of Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar".

"For me its a celebration of London's immense ethnic wealth, giving expression to and honouring the many cultures and ethnicities that are still breathing precious wind into the sails of the UK."

Models of the entries will be on display at the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, until March 30.

The winning artist is expected to be announced before June, with their artwork due to be installed in 2009.