PARIS, Nov 2: Europe's newspapers on Tuesday voiced anxiety and dread as they mulled the future of America, Europe and the world according to who wins the cliffhanger US presidential vote, dubbed the "mother of all elections."

"The world holds its breath," says Italy's La Repubblica, as American voters were set to head to the polls to choose between incumbent George W. Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry.

Austria's popular Krone daily warned "the mother of all elections" was set to throw "our world either into a calmer future or into new military adventures."

"Good luck, America," says Berlin's left-wing Tageszeitung above an image of a slot machine. "American voters today decide their future and that of the entire world."

Papers across the continent voiced fears of a repeat of the vote-counting debacle of the equally close 2000 race. -AFP