Public attitude to the US improving

An opinion poll carried out for the BBC World Service suggests attitudes towards the United States are improving.



According to the survey the average percentage of people saying that the US has a positive influence has risen to 35 percent from 31 percent a year ago.



Those saying the US have a negative influence fell five percentage points to 47 percent.



The poll interviewed more than 17,000 people in 34 countries.



The survey period was the three months up to the end of January 2008.