Warsaw - US president-elect Barack Obama will create "a new image for America across the world," building on an election victory that seems "like a fairy tale," Poland's foreign minister said Wednesday.

"It's a joyful moment, because Americans feel that something very important has taken place," Radek Sikorski told Polish Radio, calling Obama "charismatic" and "unbelievably intelligent."

"That opens a new chapter in their history, and something that makes them feel they can again feel proud as Americans."

Sikorski, a British-educated centre-right politician who backs US plans for a missile defence system in eastern Europe, said he expects "great" relations with Washington to continue.

Sikorski said Obama had previously told him he would build the US missile defence base in Poland as long as the system works and wasn't aimed against Russia.

Pentagon plans to base missile interceptors in Poland and a tracking radar in Czech Republic has angered Moscow, which says it is aimed at countering Russia's nuclear arsenal.

The Bush administration says the system is meant to protect against growing ballistic missile threats from "rogue states" like Iran.

Obama's victory was "a renewal of faith of Americans in their national mythology, or ideology," Sikorski said.

"You can be an immigrant, you can be a different color and become president. It's like a fairy tale," he said. (dpa)