WALES' preparations for next year's World Cup are set to include training camps in Switzerland and Qatar.

The preparations are set to take place ahead of Wales' World Cup warm-up games next summer.

The squad have previously trained in Poland but head coach Warren Gatland believes his charges will benefit from a change of scenery.

"We have got a high-altitude camp in Switzerland, which is being planned, and we are doing a warm weather camp in Qatar," said Gatland.

"I think we have got 12 to 14 days in Switzerland. We are going to sleep high, train low, going up by cable car to sleep.

"We have had that planning in place for the last three months or so and have prepared for all that.

"The thing with the altitude training is not so much that you train at it, it's just the physiological benefits you get from it.

"The challenge is doing that in Switzerland at altitude and also at 45 to 50 degrees centigrade in Qatar."

He added: "Poland is something we will definitely go back to at some stage but we've used it on a lot of occasions. Talking to our trainers, they felt like we conquered it last time.

"So from a psychological point of view, this is giving us another challenge."

Wales are set to play home and away World Cup warm-ups against Ireland and a Millennium Stadium encounter with Italy.

Gatland must name his 31-man squad on August 31 ahead of the tournament, which starts on September 18 and pits Wales against England, Australia and Fiji.

The Wales boss was speaking at the launch of a new partnership between the Welsh Rugby Union and Mercedes-Benz South Wales that will see cars provided to coaches, players and staff until 2018.