WASHINGTON (AP):

In nearly equal measure, Americans say they do not like Cuban President Fidel Castro but want the United States to re-establish regular diplomatic relations with the communist island nation after 45 years of estrangement.

Less than half of those polled think Cuba will become a democracy after the 80-year-old revolutionary leader dies or permanently steps aside, although 89 per cent in The Associated Press-Ipsos poll say they think Cubans will be better off or about the same when Castro is gone.

"It's probably not very likely in the short term," Kelly Shanley, 29, said of prospects for a democratic shift. "I just hope for the citizens of Cuba that it's something that's realised in the next few decades."

Although the tropical island 90 miles (145 kilometres) off Florida was once a vacation playground, famed for its nightlife, nearly half, 46 per cent, said they would be not at all interested in vacationing in Cuba. Forty per cent of those polled said they would be interested in vacationing there if a long-standing travel ban were lifted.

The poll suggests the Cold War animosity that has defined U.S.-Cuba relations for nearly a half-century may be fading. Castro's health began to fail six months ago and he temporarily shifted power to his younger brother Raul. Rumors have been rampant about his ailments and how long he can survive.

Although U.S. administrations from left to right have called Castro a dictator and a tyrant, and spent millions of dollars trying to undermine him, 27 per cent of respondents said they have not heard enough about Castro to form an opinion. Those respondents still were included in the survey, and they were asked the other questions.

The poll showed 64 per cent had a very or somewhat unfavourable opinion of Castro, the revolutionary leader who has said he will be a Marxist-Leninist until the day he dies.