Stockholm  - US authors Philip Roth and Joyce Carol Oates, plus writer Amos Oz of Israel, were Wednesday being punted as likely winners for the Nobel Literature Prize, on the eve of the announcement.

Stockholm dailies Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter published surveys of literary critics and cultural editors ahead of the Swedish Academy's announcement due Thursday.

Romanian-born German novelist Herta Mueller as well as Algerian- born Assia Djebar of France and Syrian-born poet Adonis (Ali Ahmad Said Asbar) were mentioned by several Swedish and international critics.

The trio were also on the online betting site Ladbrokes, which has Oz as its favourite at 4 to 1 shadowed by Oates and Dejebar at 5 to 1.

The site also listed Italians Antonio Tabucchi and Claudio Magris, Haruki Murakami of Japan and Albanian author Ismail Kadare among its top-10.

Robert McCrum of the Observer newspaper in London told Svenska Dagbladet he tipped Oz or David Grossman, also of Israel.

US author Thomas Pynchon was mentioned by Austrian daily Die Presse's Norbert Mayer, Norwegian daily Aftenposten's Terje Stemland and Darryl Accone of the Mail & Guardian in South Africa.

Toni Morrison was in 1993 the most recent US author to win the Nobel Literature Prize - perhaps improving the chances for an American.

Others have noted that Wislawa Szymborska of Poland was in 1996 the most recent poet to win, suggesting 2009 might be the year for a poet.

However, the Swedish Academy has made some surprise choices in recent years catching pundits off guard, for instance with Austrian Elfriede Jelinek in 2004.

French author Jean-Marie le Clezio won last year's prize.

The Nobel Literature Prize is worth 10 million kronor (1.4 million dollars), and was endowed by Swedish industrialist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.

Nobel prizes are also awarded for medicine, physics, chemistry, and peace.

Since 1968 an economic sciences prize - a prize not originally endowed by Nobel - has been awarded.

The Nobel award ceremonies are held December 10 in Stockholm and Oslo, the anniversary of Nobel's 1896 death in San Remo, Italy. (IANS)