US presidential hopeful Barack Obama is heading to the UK after jubilant scenes during his visit to the German capital Berlin.

A huge crowd gathered in the city to welcome the man they believe is the next US President.

Mr Obama is on the European leg of his world tour and stops off in Paris before coming to London where he will hold talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Downing Street.

He will also meet Tory leader David Cameron and ex-PM Tony Blair before returning to the US, where he faces Republican John McCain in November's presidential election.

Thousands lined the streets of Berlin to hear Mr Obama, a highly-popular figure in Germany, make a keynote speech.

He said: "In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common.

"In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future.

"But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together."

Mr Obama went on: "If we're honest we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart and forgotten our shared destiny."

German media compared his visit to former President John F Kennedy's 1963 "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.

Unlike Mr Kennedy, Mr Obama did not break into German, but spoke at length of the historic ties between the United States and Germany, touching on the Berlin airlift 60 years ago and the fall of the Wall in 1989.

His comments were cheered by a huge crowd, some wearing Obama badges, "Yes We Can" t-shirts echoing his slogan and carrying American flags.

A reggae band played in the background and people sipped beer under sunny skies in a summertime party atmosphere.

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