LONDON — Most French, Germans and Britons favor Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain for U.S. president, a poll showed as Obama prepared to visit Europe.

Sixty-four percent of adults surveyed in France, 62 percent in Germany and 60 percent in the U.K. said the Illinois senator is their choice for president, according to a Gallup Poll survey published yesterday.

Obama's popularity suggests that his election would help heal the divisions created between the U.S. and Europe over the 2003 invasion of Iraq, though too much support abroad could become an electoral liability at home, Gallup said.

"The election of Obama would resonate with how these countries feel about the candidates and could go a long way to restoring U.S. prestige in Europe," Gallup said. "There is no question that Obama has become a 'rock star' of sorts" in Europe.

Arizona Sen. McCain, who visited European capitals in March, had the support of 15 percent of those surveyed in the U.K., 4 percent in France and 10 percent in Germany.

The Gallup poll was conducted between May 20 and June 4. It included telephone interviews with 1,011 adults in Germany, 1,006 in France and 1,001 in Britain. The margin of error for the survey is 3 percentage points, Gallup said.