The people of Finland are voting in a presidential election which correspondents say has become a battle of personalities rather than policies.

Of seven candidates, four are women -- and opinion polls show that the female Social Democrat foreign minister, Tarja Halonen, is vying with the former prime minister, Esko Aho, to become the country's first woman president.

Both say that Finland should have a special relationship with Russia, but correspondents say that no matter who's chosen to replace President Martti Ahtisaari, no major changes are expected in foreign and security policy, the Finnish head of state's traditional domain.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service