Obama to forego public funds for election campaign

US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama yesteday said he has decided to forego public financing of his election campaign against Republican John McCain. The decision frees him to collect money privately, which could be a help to him strategically before November's election.

During the Democratic primary contest to pick his party's candidate, Mr Obama smashed records for fund-raising, largely on the success he achieved in raising money over the internet.

"We've made the decision not to participate in the public financing system for the general election," Mr Obama said in a video statement e-mailed to reporters.