Tessa Jowell has announced plans to let players of the National Lottery choose which causes their money should go to.

In a speech to the Lottery Monitor annual conference in London, the culture secretary said up to five projects in two as-yet unnamed pilot areas will compete for grants of up to £50,000.

People playing the lottery in those pilot areas will be able to tick a box to register their support for local causes.

The 'Your pound, your choice' initiative will be launched in August.

Jowell said: "It is vital that the public feel that they have a genuine sense of ownership of the National Lottery and real power to shape decisions and influence outcomes.

"We have already made the lottery more responsive to the views of the public - the tick box pilots and decisions about how lottery money is spent over the next 10-year period take that a step further."

She said other examples of public voting on lottery grants include the BBC's 'Restoration' show.

Jowell added that the division of money between sport, arts, film and heritage for the period 2009-19 will remain unchanged, after public consultation showed strong support for the present distribution.

Some 28p from every £1 lottery ticket goes to good causes.

Sport, arts, film and heritage all receive 16.6 per cent, with the remaining 50 per cent given to projects supporting areas like health, education and the environment.

Jowell confirmed that £410m of lottery money will be put towards the 2012 Olympic games.

Shadow culture minister Mark Field said there was "very real concern about the government's constant raid on lottery funds".

"It is time the secretary of state took her hand out of the lottery till," he said.

Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Don Foster said: "I welcome this guarantee that lottery funding for arts, heritage, sport and charities will not be further undermined.

"Greater public involvement - correctly implemented - could further safeguard lottery expenditure.

"But the government's tick box plans must truly promote informed participation and be proven as more than a cloak of democratic legitimacy hiding Labour's slow takeover of lottery funds."