Some of the most impressive and unusual U.S. embassies and other diplomatic properties on the market, according to the State Department's Bureau of Overseas Building Operations:

• London: Former embassy annex overlooking Grosvenor Square in the heart of the city's Mayfair district. Used until recently as an office for the U.S. Navy and home to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff during the planning of the North African invasion in WWII. Asking price: $180 million for the remaining 939 years of a 999-year lease.

• Katmandu, Nepal: Former U.S. Embassy in the Nepalese capital. Described as resembling a "grand colonial estate" on 2.7 acres in the foothills of the Himalayas. Includes the embassy chancery building, an office annex and a cafeteria. Asking price: $6 million.

• Ottawa: Former home of the No. 2 of the U.S. Embassy. Marketed as "a historically significant and substantial residence" in one of Ottawa's most desirable neighborhoods, the Old Village of Rockcliffe Park. Featured in the 1990 Paul Newman film "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge." Asking price $2.25 million.

• Tripoli, Libya: Former ambassadorial villa on large grounds that contain "a swimming pool with changing facilities, staff quarters and extensive garden space." Vacant since the U.S. withdrew diplomats, now returned, from Libya in 1980, and the site of numerous anti-American protests. The property is in need of repair, and "title issues" are still being worked out. Asking price: $1.5 million.