In pictures: New Year celebrations

The arrival of 2003 has been greeted by parties around the globe - from the top of the world's tallest building in Kuala Lumpur to strife-torn Ivory Coast.

Fireworks lit up the Athens sky over the Parthenon as the clock struck midnight

Revellers on the Champs Elysees in Paris celebrated the customary way...

... while in India's Lucknow, women prepared a less traditional greeting

An Ivorian woman's hat declares "Curfew or not we're celebrating" while food is on the mind of this Lebanese family

But in South Korea, the new year brought reminders of families split by the Korean War

Skydivers leapt from the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur in 2002 - and landed in 2003

In New York, a blizzard of red, white and blue confetti greeted 2003 as Times Square hosted its 99th new year party

A few hours earlier, Sydney Harbour Bridge erupted in a huge fireworks display