Voters in Chile are casting their ballots in the final round of the presidential election, which correspondents say is the closest contest since the country's return to democracy ten years ago.

The two candidates, the socialist, Ricardo Lagos, and Joaquin Lavin of the opposition conservatives, are running neck-and-neck, after a campaign dominated by social issues such as health and education.

As he went to vote, Mr Lavin said he was confident of a narrow victory, while Mr Lagos spoke of building a new Chile.

The first round in December ended in a virtual tie. The BBC Santiago correspondent says the result could be swayed by the British announcement last week that Chile's former military leader, Augusto Pinochet, was too ill to stand trial for alleged human rights abuses commited during his term in office.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service