Obama wants summit with Muslim nations

Paris/Denver: US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told a French magazine in an interview that if he wins office, he will hold a summit with Muslim countries to improve the United States image in the world.

"Once I'm elected, I want to organise a summit in the Muslim world, with all the heads of state, to have an honest discussion about ways to bridge the gap that grows every day between Muslims and the West," Thursday's edition of Paris Match quoted Obama as saying.

"I want to ask them to join our fight against terrorism. We must also listen to their concerns," Obama said in the French-language transcript.

Surveys around the world show high levels of anti-Americanism in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Negative opinions are strongest in the Muslim world, according to the Pew Research Centre.

The Illinois senator is running neck-and-neck against senator Hillary Clinton from New York to lead the Democratic ticket in November's presidential election.

After chasing all their rivals from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton and Obama now face off over who is more capable of beating Republican front-runner John McCain to win the White House.

The departure of John Edwards left Obama and Clinton alone for their first one-on-one debate, which could sharply impact how Democrats cast their votes in the potentially decisive multi-state primaries of "Super Tuesday" on February 5.