Fransen en Duitsers voor Obama, Britten voor Clinton (en)
Most citizens from Germany, France, Italy and Spain would prefer Democrat Barrack Obama to become the next US president, but Britons would vote for Hillary Clinton, according to a poll of some 5000 individuals from the biggest EU states.
The survey was conducted by Harris agency between January 30 and February 8, for the Financial Times.
Mr Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois, achieved the biggest support amongst Europeans in most selected countries, preferred by 35 percent of pollsters in Spain and 45 percent in Italy.
However, in the UK, Ms Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, topped the symbolic poll there, but only just, leading 28 percent to Mr Obama's 23 percent.
While generally receiving less support among Europeans, the Arizona senator John McCain and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani were the Republican favourites, with Mr Giuliani particularly successful in Italy.
The election of the 44th US president will take place on 4 November 2008, along with a vote for all seats in the country's House of Representatives and one-third of the seats in the Senate.
In the latest round of primaries last week, Senator Obama won in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, boosting his chances to overtake his democratic rival, although neither won enough party delegates to secure the nomination.
For the Republicans, Senator John McCain is on course to beat rival Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas.
With a huge majority of Americans disappointed with current Republican president George W. Bush, largely as a result of the war in Iraq, most analysts expect the Democrats to win the race for the White House, no matter who wins the nomination.
Nonetheless, polls suggest that rather than Iraq dominating the election, voters are focused on economic and security issues, as well as problems surrounding immigration.