WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama will run for a second term in 2012, his campaign announced Monday in a web video and in e-mails to his supporters.

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"This campaign is just kicking off. We're opening up offices, unpacking boxes, and starting a conversation with supporters like you to help shape our path to victory. 2012 begins now, and this is where you say you're in," said the launch video posted on his campaign website.

The US presidential election is due in November 2012.

As a Democrat, Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He was elected in the congressional elections in 2004 as a US senator.

He made history in 2008 presidential election as he became the first African-American president in the United States and gained unprecedented high popularity with his promise of bringing the country "change we can believe in."