Washington - By picking Senator Joe Biden, 65, as his runnin

Prague - Eastern European leaders congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday, but some allies appeared cautious about America's shift to the left.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek invited Obama to Prague, where Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a deal in July to place part of a US missile defence radar in the ex-communist nation.

Obama's victory "does not change relations" between Washington and Prague, said Topolanek, a centre-right leader and one of President George W Bush's strongest allies in the former Warsaw Pact area.

Vatican City - Roman Catholics "pray that God may enlighten" US president-elect Barack Obama so that he can successfully respond to the hope his election has generated, Pope Benedict XVI's spokesman said Wednesday.

Obama has raised expectations on "justice and finding appropriate ways to promote peace in the world," Father Federico Lombardi was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

There was hope he would "favour human growth and dignity with respect to essential human and spiritual values," Lombardi said.

Islamabad- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his watershed win, saying he was looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations "to promote peace and stability in our region and beyond."

Virginia, Nov 5 : South Asian origin students in the United States today expressed their happiness over the historic victory of Democrat Barack Obama, who defeated his Republican rival John McCain to become the 44th US President elect.

Obama won at least 338 Electoral College votes, far more than the 270 needed. With results in from more than two-thirds of US precincts, he led McCain by 51 percent to 48 percent in the popular vote.

Cairo - American expatriates living in Cairo cheered Barak Obama's win as they partied into the early hours, and Egyptian locals expressed satisfaction with the election of the first black US president.

Many Americans in Egypt think that Obama's winning will positively reflect on the US image in the Arab world.

"I'm very happy that Obama won. This way people will stop asking me if I'm from the US and If I like Bush," said Jeff Bellis, a political science student at the American University in Cairo.