'Shrek 4' given go-ahead

Film studio DreamWorks have given the go-ahead to a fourth Shrek movie before the second has even hit cinemas.

"There are actually four chapters to our Shrek story so assuming number two is successful we can continue on to do all four," said DreamWorks partner Jeffrey Katzenberg. "Each chapter answers questions about the first and gives us an insight.

"Shrek 3 and 4 are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the last chapter, we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie. There is a reason he came to be there, but there is another chapter to the story before that."

Shrek 2 - which premiered in Cannes at the weekend - will open nationwide on July 2nd. The third movie, currently in development, is due for release in 2006.