With US presidential elections just a few weeks away, the Indian public appears to be disinterested in the fight for the White House between Barack Obama and John McCain if a latest poll is an indication.

Indians prefer Barack Obama as the next US president to John McCain by a relatively narrow margin compared to public in other countries, with many choosing not to express a preference, showed a new BBC World Service poll spanning 22 countries.

The survey found the Indians most commonly opine that America's relations with the rest of the world would improve under either an Obama (Democratic candidate) or McCain (Republican nominee) presidency.

A quarter of Indians (24 per cent) say Obama, who is aspiring to become the first black-American president, is their preferred candidate, while only 15 per cent express support for McCain, the survey said.

A similar trend or disinterest in the US poll process was also found in Russia, Turkey and Egypt.

"Despite the preference for an Obama victory in all countries, significant proportions in several said they do not favour either candidate, favour both equally or do not know which would be preferable," according to a BBC release.

"This was particularly the case in Russia, where 75 per cent do not express a preference between the candidates, but also in Turkey (63 per cent) and Egypt (61 per cent).

Improving ties

The survey also found that Indians most commonly see US relations with the rest of the world improving under an Obama presidency (45 per cent), compared to those that say they would stay the same (17 per cent) or become worse (10 per cent).

Similarly, Indians most commonly say relations would improve if McCain elected president (35 per cent) while 19 per cent say they would stay the same and 16 per cent feel they would worsen.

"Indians tend to say that their perception of the US would fundamentally change if Obama, an African-American, is elected US president: 40 per cent say it would change their perception, while only 24 per cent say it would not," the release said.

Meanwhile, according to the outcome of the survey people in all the 22 countries preferred 47-year-old Obama to McCain, 71, a Vietnam war veteran.

Obama is preferred by a four to one margin on average across the 22,000 people polled, the BBC release said.

The margin in favour of Obama ranges from just 9 per cent in India to 82 per cent in Kenya. On average 49 per cent prefer Obama to 12 per cent preferring McCain.

The poll also explored the expected impact of the US election. In 17 of the 22 countries surveyed the most common view is that, if Obama is elected president, America's relations with the rest of the world are likely to get better.

If McCain is elected, the most common view in 19 countries is that relations will stay about the same as they are now.

On average 46 per cent think that US relations with the world would get better with Obama, 22 per cent that relations would stay the same, and 7 per cent that they would get worse.

The US presidential poll is scheduled for November 4 when Obama, a Senator from Illinois, will vie against McCain. The winner will succeed incumbent George W Bush.