Barack Obama was voted the most influential man of 2008 in an online poll that asked men to decide who most impacted the way they behave, buy and think.

The US Democratic presidential candidate was ranked number one by readers on the AskMen.com lifestyle website, beating Apple chief executive Steve Jobs and Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps, who landed in the number two and number three spots, respectively.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain was ranked number 10 on the list, which was compiled on the basis of 200,000 votes from readers of the website whose average age is 27-28 years-old.

Last year's winner, British soccer star David Beckham, fell to number 25 on the 2008 list, which asked men to go beyond professional success and likeability when picking their top 49 choices.

James Bassil, editor-in-chief of AskMen, said he thought Obama's top place was not so much a political endorsement of his candidacy as "a reflection of the interest the presidential race has ignited in the United States."

Stephen Colbert, host of the satirical news show The Colbert Report, was the only other politically-minded name in the Top 10 of the 2008 list, which was dominated by sports stars, actors and musicians.

The top 10 are:

1) Barack Obama (Democratic presidential nominee)

2) Steve Jobs (Apple CEO)

3) Michael Phelps (Olympic swimmer)

4) Robert Downey, Jr (actor)

5) Stephen Colbert (political TV commentator)

6) Gordon Ramsay (celebrity chef)

7) Christian Bale (actor)

8) Rob Kay ("Rock Band" video game designer)

9) Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer player)

10) John McCain (Republican presidential nominee)

Reuters