TAIPEI, Feb 5 (Reuter) - The Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's exiled god-king, has set the date for his Taiwan visit, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The United Daily News said the visit, to begin on March 23, was being called a religious trip to avoid provoking communist China.

Taiwan's presidential office has been informed of the Dalai Lama's itinerary, including plans to visit the legislature on March 26, the newspaper said. The presidential office said it knew nothing about the visit.

The report said senior government and Nationalist Party officials would not rule out having informal talks with the Dalai Lama in their capacity as Buddhist disciples.

The Dalai Lama plans three lectures on Tibetan Buddhism.

The head of Taiwan's Buddhist association has said the Dalai Lama would have "absolutely no official contacts or activities" in Taiwan and would avoid the Republic of China government.

However, trip organisers hoped to set an informal meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Lee Teng-hui, a devout Presbyterian who recently expressed his admiration for the Tibetan cleric's beliefs and ideals.

China regards the Dalai Lama and President Lee as "splittists" who seek to divide Tibet and Taiwan from China.