If you have always wanted to have a say in the United States' presidential elections, your chance has arrived. Kind of. If the World Could Vote, a project started by three young men from Iceland, asks that question, and poses it to the world.

The internet-based survey allows people from every country - or every computer - in the world to vote, once, for their preferred candidate in the US's 2008 elections: the democrat Barack Obama, or the republican John McCain.

So far, as of October 6, more than 122 000 votes have been cast from 179 countries, Bragi Thor, one of the creators, wrote in an e-mail to The Sofia Echo.

The winner by far, so far? Obama, with 100 per cent of the votes in a number of countries. It was only  in Belarus, Georgia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Nicaragua and Northern Mariana Islands that McCain had 50 per cent of the votes or more, though Israel came close, giving the republican 37.6 per cent of its 125 votes to date.

Macedonia, where 332 people have so far voted, only granted 9.6 per cent to Obama, whereas Greece (1179 votes) gave the Democrat candidate 96.4 per cent. Thor said that this seemed due to the name dispute between the two countries and the US involvement in it.

Curiosity one night while lying in bed played a big role in setting up the website, Thor said. "I started thinking about how important the US president really is, and that the votes of the American people can have a significant influence on my life. I knew that I was not alone to have an opinion on the elections, and wanted to give the people of the world a voice."

This does not mean, however, as If the World Could Vote's creators made clear, that the people of the world should in fact be able to elect the American president.

"I feel that the poll, although not extremely scientific, will show that worldwide, people are tired of the Bush administration and the republicans," Thor wrote. "It is obvious that the world wants change. That will probably not have any impact on the elections itself. But at least their voices are heard."

Most responses have been positive, with people being "extremely thankful for this website"; those who have not appreciated the project are, he said, mostly republicans, "who say that we should not be sticking our noses in other people's business".

Thor's response? "I tell them back that this is everybody's business."

He has not received any feedback from Bulgaria, the Balkans or any of the ex-Soviet countries, something he hopes will change.

If the World Could Vote is a non-profit, apolitical initiative; its only intention is to give the world a change to voice its opinion.