Locals on the windswept island chain in the North Atlantic left their shops and schools to catch a glimpse of Clinton as he strolled through the capital Torshavn, where he stopped for coffee and visited a book store.

"We won't know until they vote but I think so," Clinton said when a reporter asked if his wife had what it took to become the next US president, and whether Americans were ready for a woman in the White House.

"I think these last years have been very sobering for Americans and I think they really want to elect a person to be the best president. It turns out to be a woman. I think they will elect her."

Hillary Clinton has a wide lead in national opinion polls as the race for the Democratic nomination heats up.

Clinton arrived in Torshavn earlier Monday to become the first serving or former US president to visit the Faroes, an semi-autonomous region of Denmark half way between Norway and Iceland.

The archipelago is home to some 48,000 people with an economy based on fishing.

Clinton used his visit to meet local leaders and discuss a range of global issues from the situation in Iraq to global warming, democracy in Myanmar and the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.

He mentioned his Irish heritage and noted that Irish monks were the first to settle on the Faroes in the 12th and 13th centuries.

"Maybe I have some ancestors here," he said.

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