Desktop no keyboard focus on boot

[govub]

I have XBMC installed and use MCE remote to start the application after boot. I have setup to auto login. I am not able to use the MCE remote or keyboard to select the icon of any application on the desktop. First I had to click with mouse on the desktop, before I could use the remote or keyboard.

I have Ubuntu 9.04/Gnome. I did google search and didn't find any close to this issue.

Any help is appreciated.