Washington: Iraq war has tarnished the United State's image, according to a survey. And President George W Bush, it adds, has lost popular trust.

The Pew Global Attitudes Project, chaired by former Clinton administration secretary of state Madeleine Albright, found in its survey that the US-led war had deepened an existing rift between America and Europe, and especially angered many Muslims around the world, says a report in 'News24.com'.

According to the survey, "The speed of the war in Iraq and the prevailing belief that the Iraqi people are better off as a result have modestly improved the image of America. But in most countries, opinions of the US are markedly lower than they were a year ago."

Another finding is that a majority of Muslims in the Palestinian authority, Jordan and Indonesia, and nearly half those in Pakistan and Morocco, had at least some confidence in Osama bin Laden to "do the right thing regarding world affairs".

A total of 71 per cent of Palestinians surveyed said they had confidence in bin Laden in this regard, while most Muslim populations doubted a solution can be found to enable Israel to exist so that the rights of the Palestinian people are met.

Nearly 16,000 people in about 20 countries were polled for their view on how the war had affected opinion of the United States, Bush, the United Nations and the Middle East.

"In the long run, we know what happens to imperial powers and I don't foresee the United States going down that path," Albright said at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington.

Another important point is that "negative views" of the US among Muslims, which have been largely limited to countries in the Middle East, have spread to Muslim populations in Indonesia and Nigeria."

Since last summer, favourable ratings for the USA have fallen to 15 per cent from 61 per cent in Indonesia and to 38 per cent from 71 per cent in Nigeria, two of the world's most populous Muslim states.

"The war has widened the rift between Americans and Western Europeans, further inflamed the Muslim world, softened support for the (US) war on terrorism, and significantly weakened global public support for the pillars of the post-World War II era, the UN and the North Atlantic alliance," the survey stressed.

The study further found that about three-quarters of those surveyed in France, or 76 per cent, wanted a less dependent relationship with the United States on security and diplomacy matters. A majority of German respondents, or 57 per cent of those surveyed, were also less inclined to have a close relationship with Washington on those issues.

"People in most countries rate Vladimir Putin, Gerhard Schroeder, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair more highly than they do Bush," it added. Not surprisingly, Albright said a great deal of work needs to be done to patch up trans-Atlantic relationships.

ANI