Even as majority in several countries remain highly critical of the Chinese polices, Indians are evenly divided on the issue, according to a just released poll.

At least 37 per cent Indians were critical of China policies, 33 per cent favoured Beijing [Images], while about 30 per cent did not take any position.

The poll conducted in France [Images], Great Britain, India, Indonesia, South Korea and the United States, however, was conducted before the current unrest in Tibet which could have influenced the results.

On an average across all six countries, 64 per cent said their view was critical of China, while seventeen per cent sided with Beijing.

The poll shows that the critical view is held by large majorities in the Untied States (74 per cent), France (75 per cent) and Britain (63 per cent).

Views are more varied among the Asian countries. An overwhelming 84 per cent of South Koreans are critical, as is a modest majority of Indonesians (54 per cent, with only 12 per cent endorsing China's position).

These findings are from a poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a project of research centers from around the world, managed by the Programme on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland in the United States.

Respondents were presented the issue by hearing a description of both the position of critics of China's policy on Tibet and the position of China.

They were told that: "Critics of China say that it should allow Tibet to have autonomy, to preserve its traditional culture and to allow the Dalai Lama [Images] to return to Tibet.

China says that Tibet has long been part of the country, and has benefited from modernisation, and that the Dalai Lama should not be allowed to return because he aims to split Tibet from China.

In nearly every country polled, criticism of China is higher among those with greater education except in India, where attitudes vary little with greater education.

On average across all six countries, a bare majority of 52 per cent is critical of China among those with less than a high school education, rising progressively to 78 per cent critical among college graduates.

Younger people (age 18-29) are a bit less likely than average to side with critics of China (59 per cent) while those aged 45-59 are most likely to do so (71 per cent).

The poll, which was conducted on 4,774 respondents, was held between January 18 and February 29. The margin of error for each country ranged from 3.1 to 4.1 per cent.

Steven Kull, director of the WorldPublicOpinion.org said, "While China's image in the world is generally moderately positive, it appears that China's image is being harmed by its policies on Tibet. The recent violence in Tibet may mean that China will face increasing criticism."