Barack obama wons the race

Democrat Barack Obama is set to be the first African-American President of the United States of America after defeating his Republican rival John McCain.

When reports last came in Obama had managed 297 Electoral College

votes as against McCain's 146 while he needed 270 to win the historic the race for the White House.

Mccain called Obama to congratulate him on victory.

US poll projections say that Obama is set to win more than 50 per cent of the vote.

"I called Obama and congratulated him. I recognise the significance of this election to African-Americans. We both recognise we've come a long way from old injustices," said John McCain, Republican candidate for President.

Mccain said: "We fought as hard as we could, failure is mine not yours."

A crowd expected to top 100,000 began gathering on Tuesday night in Grant Park in Chicago, where Obama scheduled an address after his victory.

Hundreds of thousands more - Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets - were expected to watch on a large television screen outside the park.