MUMBAI, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee was steady at three-week highs in afternoon trade on Monday as a rally in the local share market raised hopes of some fresh capital inflows and following aggressive rate cuts by the central bank. * At 2:10 p.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 49.27/28 per dollar, 0.6 percent stronger than its previous close of 49.57/58. * India's main share index .BSESN extended gains to more than 5 percent on Monday afternoon, boosted by strong global markets and after the central bank cut rates and government announced additional spending at the weekend. See [.BO]. * Foreign capital flows have been a key driver for the rupee over the last two years. Foreigners have so far in 2008, withdrawn a net $13.7 billion from Indian shares, after record net purchases of $17.4 billion in 2007. * The central bank on Saturday slashed its key interest rates by 1 percentage point to boost growth and confidence, and the government detailed its stimulus plans on Sunday. See [ID:nBOM360719]. (Reporting by Swati Bhat; editing by Sunil Nair)

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