Barack Obama continues to shorten in the odds just over a week out from the 2008 US presidential election.

Obama now stands at 1.07 at Ladbrokes, against McCain's 7.5. The odds on Obama winning more than 370 of the 568 seats on offer have shortened to 2.62, with the Democrat candidate favored to win most of the battleground states.

On the question of whether McCain will manage to win 22 states or more, as opposed to 21 states or less, odds of 1.83 are being offered on both options. McCain could win half the states in the union but still lose by a large margin, given that most of the states he is favored to win are in more sparsely-populated areas.

Secretary of State odds
With Obama considered a shoe-in by the bookmakers, Democrats lead the odds to be the next secretary of state.

Richard Holbrooke, who was US ambassador to the United Nations during Bill Clinton's presidency, leads the charge at odds of 3.00. Holbrooke is the only person to have been assistant secretary of state for two regions - Asia and Europe.

Hot on his heels is Anthony Lake, 6.00, a veteran political figure in Washington, and a former national security adviser to Bill Clinton. 2004 Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry, 7.00, is reportedly interested in the job as well.

Another notable name to feature is Colin Powell, 21.00, who of course held the position during George W. Bush's first term in office. Powell has recently swung over to the other side, publicly endorsing Barack Obama for the presidency.

Hillary Clinton and John McCain are both 26.00, Al Gore and Bill Clinton are both 34.00, and two stalwarts in Henry Kissinger and Jimmy Carter are both an unlikely but tempting 101.00.