Tom and Katie set the date

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are planning an Independence Day weekend wedding if changes to their marriage registry list at US department store Neiman Marcus are to be believed.

The couple, listed as Katherine Holmes and Thomas Mapother - Cruise's birth name - are only asking for Neiman Marcus gift cards at this stage, but they have set the date for July 7 - four days after the War of the World star's 44th birthday.

Cruise's newly-appointed publicist, Paul Bloch, is refusing to confirm or deny the latest development, giving a firm "no comment" to all inquiries.

Cruise proposed to Holmes at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France in June and recently told US TV host Barbara Walters he was planning to exchange vows with his fiancee next summer or autumn.

Details of the couple's wedding are being kept a closely-guarded secret.