Maria Shriver, the wife of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for US President - just days after her husband backed Republican favourite John McCain.

"The more I thought about it, I thought, you know, if Barack Obama was a state, he'd be California," Ms Shriver, a member of the influential Kennedy clan, told the crowds at a rally at the University of California.

"Think about it: diverse, open, smart, independent, bucks tradition, innovative, inspiring, dreamer, leader!"

Ms Shriver's announcement came a week after her cousin Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of the late US President John F Kennedy, and his brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, both said they would support Mr Obama.

The 46-year-old junior senator for Illinois, known for his rousing and inspiring speeches, has drawn regular comparisons to JFK, who served in the White House from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Rival endorsements

Ms Shriver told the celebrity-packed event - headlined by talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and music legend Stevie Wonder - that the presidential hopeful "is about the power of us, and what we can do together, because... there is much more that unites us than divides us.

"He is about empowering women, African-Americans, Latinos, older people, younger people. He's about empowering all of us," she said.

Her backing comes as political campaigning hots up ahead of this week's 'Super Tuesday' on which California and 20 other states will decide who they want to see nominated for President.

Last week, Ms Shriver's husband, Hollywood hardman-turned-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, endorsed the party's frontrunner John McCain.
Source: SBS staff and agencies