LONDON - A sampling of public opinion about America in 11 nations around the world paints a picture of an arrogant superpower with an enviable economy but which is a greater danger to world peace than North Korea.

US President George W. Bush failed to impress 58 per cent of those questioned by pollsters conducting a survey for the BBC. The people said they had a fairly unfavourable or very unfavourable view of the American president. If the American respondents were removed from the sample, the percentage rose to 60.

The broadcaster emphasized that the poll was not a representative sampling of world opinion but only of opinion in the 11 countries: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Russia, South Korea and the US.

Not all the news was bad.

Even though 67 per cent of those in the survey said they wouldn't want their countries to copy US economic policies, 67 per cent would aspire to US gains in science and technology, and 56 per cent to the opportunities for advancement available to people in the United States. Forty per cent also aspired to US freedom of expression.

But the way the US wields its great power worried many of the 11,000 people polled in May and June for the programme, "What the World Thinks of America" which was broadcast last Tuesday.

Only 25 per cent of those asked - excluding Americans - said US military might was making the world a safer place.

Forty-one per cent agreed with Prime Minister Tony Blair's opinion that the US was a force for good in the world, and 55 per cent disagreed.

A majority in every country, including the US, said America was arrogant, for a total of 65 per cent overall. Forty-seven per cent said America was friendly, and 33 per cent found the US to be antagonistic.

Fifty-six per cent of those polled said the US had been wrong to attack Iraq, including 81 per cent of Russian respondents and 63 per cent of those in France. Overall, 37 per cent said the war was right, including 54 per cent of Britons, 74 per cent of Americans and 79 per cent of Israelis.

The al Qaida terrorist organization was ranked as more dangerous than the US but the Americans were judged to be a greater threat than Russia, China, Syria and two members of President Bush's "Axis of Evil" - Iran and North Korea.

Even in South Korea, where tensions along the Demilitarized Zone run high, 48 per cent of respondents judged the US to be a greater threat to world peace than their Communist neighbours to the north with their nuclear programme.

Seoul TV broadcaster Young Lee, trying to explain the results of the poll, said anti-American sentiment grew after American servicemen whose vehicle killed two girls near the DMZ last year were sent home to face trial.

In a studio panel of commentators, former British Cabinet Minister Clare Short, who opposed the invasion of Iraq, said America post-September 11, 2001 was "a wounded giant, full of anger ... that feels it's got to exercise its power all over the world; I think that's becoming a frightening America."

Fifty per cent of respondents said they had a fairly positive or very positive view of the US, compared with 40 per cent who had unfavorable views. Those figures excluded Americans.

The poll findings were interspersed with commentary from journalists in participating countries, summarizing their countries' views.

Respondents in most countries believed their own countries to be culturally superior to the US. Only those in Brazil, South Korea and Israel thought the Americans culturally superior.

Broadcaster Tony Jones in Sydney said 63 per cent of the Australians thought they were more cultured than Americans, in terms of good taste, manners, upbringing and education.

"We tend to see America through the prism of its own mass media, where there is not much evidence of any of those things," he explained, giving as an example the Jerry Springer show, airing daily in Australia.

In such shows, Jones said, "you can watch civil society literally imploding on screen. It's tasteless. It's ill-mannered. It's crass. This may be America's dirty washing, but it's actually hanging on our lines."

Australians love American movies and music, he said. They largely see America as arrogant, but still think it's a force for good in the world.

Many said their own countries were becoming more like the US - 81 per cent of Australians agreed with that statement, as did 64 per cent of Britons and 63 per cent of Israelis.

Broadcasters in other countries will air the programme in coming weeks.

The poll was conducted in May and June by pollsters including ICM in Britain and IPSOS Reid in the US. About 11,000 people were questioned. The BBC did not estimate a margin of error.

(Agencies via Xinhua)