Tension with Russia is seen as the most probable cause.

Yikes!

80 years after the second world war, polling has now shown many Americans and western Europeans believe a third global conflict could begin over the next 10 years.

Tension with Russia is seen as the most probable cause.

The YouGov polling comes as Europe prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

41% to 55% of respondents in the five European countries polled (Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) thought another world war was very/fairly likely in next five to 10 years.

Nearly half of Americans shared the same view.

The majority of pollers expected new conflicts to involve nuclear weapons, with 57%-73% saying WW3 would result in greater loss of life than WW2.

66% in Italy and 89% in the UK expect their country to be involved in the hypothetical war, with just 16% in Italy to 44% in France believing their armed forces could defend them.

Additionally, 71% of Americans said they had confidence in the US military defence.

Overwhelmingly, 82% to 90% of western Europeans and Americans believe it was important for school to educate students on WW2 with 72%-87% saying the events of the conflict were still relevant today.