Washington  - US president-elect Barack Obama will dine on the eve of his Tuesday inauguration with several top Republicans in the Democrat's latest attempt to build bridges with the conservative party.

Obama will attend three separate dinners Monday evening with prominent current or retired Republican senators presiding: John Warner, Chuck Hagel and Lindsey Graham.

Washington  - Muslim Americans view Barack Obama's intention to use his middle name - Hussein - during the reciting of the oath of office as a sign that he's heeded their call for greater inclusion.

Promptly at noon (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, Obama will lay one hand on the Bible used by president Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and swear to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" as the country's 44th president and first African American in the job.

Washington  - The volunteer at the shelter for homeless teens pushed up his sleeves and took up a roller of blue paint.

"This is good practice cause I'm moving to a new house tomorrow," he joked in playful banter with his fellow volunteers.

But this was no ordinary do-gooder. This was Barack Obama, who will move into the White House Tuesday as the 44th president of the United States.

Washington  - Barack Obama expects to enlist the help of ordinary Americans after he takes office Tuesday as the country's first African-American president and inherits the country's worst economic crisis in decades.

That message was hammered home Monday as Obama rolled up his sleeves and joined other Americans in celebrating the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr with a nationwide call to community service.

Washington  - One day before his inauguration as the United States' first African-American president, Barack Obama rolled up his sleeves and joined other Americans in celebrating the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr with acts of community service.

The outpouring of generosity comes amid final preparations in Washington for the lawmakers, dignitaries and as many as 2 million Obama supporters who were expected to flood the capital's National Mall for the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.

Washington - More than three-quarters of US citizens consider Barack Obama's inauguration as US president Tuesday as one of the most historically significant in the history of the United States, according to a poll released Monday by the US Gallup institute.

Some 33 per cent of US citizens in fact gave the inauguration of the first black president the top ranking of "most important" inauguration in US history.