Chicago  - African-Americans wept and hugged as the diverse crowd in Chicago's Grant Park erupted with joy at the news that Barack Obama would be the nation's first black president.

But the roar that went up from the 65,000 people admitted to the official rally quickly subsided into reverence and awe as the Illinois senator began to speak.

The ovations and cheers that punctuated Obama's speech were more in the worship style of an African-American church than a raucous victory rally for the next president of the United States of America.

Chicago - Continued text of US president-elect Barack Obama's victory speech Tuesday night in Chicago, as issued by his campaign.

"What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek ­ it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

Chicago - Lines had formed by midday outside Chicago's Grant Park, where up to a million people are expected to gather to witness Illinois Senator Barack Obama's post-election rally late Tuesday.

Chicago residents Nick Boten, 37, and Scott Larson, 38, joined the line at around 12:30 pm, eight hours before organizers would let them into the park - and they weren't even near the front of the line, which got longer and longer through the course of the afternoon.

Washington/Chicago - Tens of thousands of US voters waited patiently in serpentine queues Tuesday to vote in the country's historic election. Many had started lining up before dawn, some braved pouring rain to cast their ballot.

Officials were prepared for an unprecedented turnout as voters delivered their verdict on Democrat Barack Obama, 47, and his Republican rival John McCain, 72, after the longest and most expensive campaign in US history.

Washington/Chicago  - Hundreds of US voters waited patiently in serpentine queues Tuesday to vote in the country's historic election. Many had started lining up before dawn, some braved pouring rain to cast their ballot.

Officials were prepared for an unprecedented turnout as voters delivered their verdict on Democrat Barack Obama, 47, and his Republican rival John McCain, 72, after the longest and most expensive campaign in US history.

Chicago - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama returned to Chicago, the city where his rise to prominence began, Tuesday and cast his vote at 8:45 am (1345 GMT) at the Shoesmith School gymnasium.

Obama arrived at the polling station with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Natasha.

The Democratic candidate took his time, pausing to explain the process to his daughters at the booth, and prompting television commentators to joke: "Is he undecided?"

Obama, 47, who would be the first African American president in US history if elected, was the strong favourite heading into Tuesday's vote.