An oath taking ceremony to inauguarate the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, and Vice-President Joseph Biden is to be held Tuesday on the western steps of the Capitol. The two will take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution and and the Country.

The Inauguration Day is to begin for Mr. Obama, 47, with a morning service at one of the capital''s churches, the name of which has not been disclosed in advance by his aides and the US Secret Service agents for security considerations. Then, at 09: 55, local time, the US President-elect together with his wife Michelle will arrive at the White House, where they will be greeted by President George W. Bush at the main entrance under the vaults of the so-called Northern Portico. Mr. Biden together with his wife and the leaders of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will also arrive at the presidential residence. They all will be offered coffee.

For his inauguration Mr.Obama chose the Bible on which Abraham Lincoln had taken an oath in 1861. In general, Mr. Obama in many respects follows the ways of his great predecessor, the bicentenary of whose birth is to be marked in the United States throughout this year. The quotation from Lincoln''s famous Gettysberg Adress, "The New Birth of Freedom" has become the general theme of the present-day festivities.

After the inaugural address, Mr. Obama, in line with the tradition, will head to the Hall of Statues in the Capitol Building where a lunch is to be given in his honour.