In a statement, the Formula One team also offered to impose a moratorium on the development of three separate systems on their new car "to avoid even the possibility of Ferrari information influencing our performance during 2008".

McLaren were fined a record $100 million and stripped of their 2007 constructors' points in September as a result of a spying controversy.

This month the governing International Automobile Federation refused to clear the team's 2008 car and deferred a decision to February after a detailed technical report raised further suspicions.

The 2008 season starts in Australia in March with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, runenr-up in his rookie season, expected to be a leading title contender.

"McLaren wish to make a public apology to the FIA, Ferrari, the Formula One community and to Formula One fans throughout the world," the team said on their Web site (www.mclaren.com).

"Changes are now being made which will ensure that nothing comparable to what has taken place will ever happen again."

WIDELY DISSEMINATED

McLaren confirmed that the FIA's concerns were legitimate, saying "it has become clear that Ferrari information was more widely disseminated within McLaren than was previously communicated."

"McLaren greatly regrets that its own investigations did not identify this material and has written to the (FIA) World Motor Sport Council to apologise for this.

"McLaren has also written to the World Motor Sport Council to apologise that it has taken an FIA investigation to find this information and have expressed our deep regret that our understanding of the facts was improved as a result of the FIA inspection rather than our own investigations."

The team said they would pay the FIA's costs.

McLaren added that they had also conducted a thorough review of "policies and procedures regarding the recruitment and management of staff.

"The proposals arising from this thorough review have been disclosed to the FIA and McLaren has agreed to demonstrate that all of these policies and procedures have been fully implemented."

In a separate letter sent by McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh to FIA President Max Mosley before a hearing in Monaco last week, the team revealed how much the controversy had affected them.

"Apart from the morale-sapping consequence within the team, it's ability to continue its task of generating investment has, as I am sure anyone can imagine, been made virtually impossible," wrote Whitmarsh.

"The long term damage to the team's previously outstanding record and commercial capability is significantly greater than that potentially envisaged by the fiscal penalty that was previously imposed upon the team."