Visible light-active rutile TiO2 with a high surface area of 200 m(2)/g was obtained by a low-temperature sol-gel synthesis, based on a long aging duration of a titania sol to stabilize the rutile phase. Decorated by an adequate amount of metallic nanoparticles, this non-doped TiO2 displays high and stable performances for the on-stream room temperature oxidation of CO by visible light photocatalysis. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.