Polling winds down in Scotland

Voting began at 7 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m. local time (2300 UTC) bringing to an end months of campaigning and pre-vote debate.

With polling too close to call, both the camps were confident of success. Late polls ahead of the vote appeared to put the "No" campaign, for those in favor of staying within the United Kingdom, slightly in the lead.

A Twitter trend map showing tweets associated with the respective social media campaigns throughout the day revealed a higher prevalence for the "Yes" campaign within Scotland itself.

In England, as might be expected, that trend was reversed.

In trading as voting took place, the British pound sterling and major share prices rose, showing that - on the markets at least - there was an expectation that the status quo would be preserved. The pound rose to a two-year high of 78.53 pence against the euro and also enjoyed a boost against the dollar.

Polling stations were busy said to be busy with turnout expected to be high - at about the 80 percent mark. More than 4.2 million people registered to take part in the vote about whether to preserve Scotland's 307-year union with England - 97 percent of those eligible.

'Once-in-a-lifetime chance'

First Minister Alex Salmond, who hopes to lead Scotland to independence with his Scottish National Party (SNP), cast his ballot in the village of Strichen, Aberdeenshire.

"It's an extraordinary moment. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Salmond told the AFP news agency in the village of Strichen in Aberdeenshire, a farming region in northeast Scotland.

Meanwhile, former British chancellor and leader of the pro-union Better Together campaign Alistair Darling, said he was "very confident" the UK would stay together.

"This is the biggest decision that any of us in Scotland will ever take. The future of our country is at stake," he said. "There is no going back."

The "Yes" campaign was given a late boost when former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray - who was born and grew up in Scotland but cannot vote because he does not live there - signaled his support for independence via Twitter.

Results are expected to begin to arrive at about 1 a.m. on Friday (0200 UTC) although the final result is unlikely to be declared until 6 a.m. at the earliest. Chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly is due to announce the result at the Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh.

rc/mkg (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)