Prime Minister Paul Martin is reviewing the $1-billion embattled gun registry and could reallocate some of the resources to other areas, according to The Globe and Mail.

Sources tell the newspaper that the money for the gun registry could instead go to beefing up security at borders to combat the entry of illegal guns from the United States.

Martin won't likely kill the registry, however.

"The question is, is it going to metamorphose into something else," said the official. "If we're going to spend this money, maybe there is a better way of spending it or siphoning some off to areas which need it."

The Globe said revamping the gun registry and allowing MPs more input is one way Martin is hoping to re-engage Western Canada.

The review is being conducted by Albina Guarnieri, minister of state for civil preparedness. She is a proponent of gun control.

The gun registry has been strongly opposed by many gun owners. Most provinces and territories have refused to comply with the legislation, which came into effect on June 30 at midnight.

Ottawa's gun registry project has been at the centre of a storm of controversy since its introduction in 1995. At the time, the project was expected to cost $2 million. It is now expected to ring in at an estimated $1 billion by 2005.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser criticized the Justice Department in her 2002 report for allowing the costs of the registry to balloon.