As Iraqi expatriates around the world kick off the voting in their country's first full election for half a century, we'll be keeping a close eye on events in Iraq over the next three days. Today's coverage will include an audio report from our Baghdad correspondent Rory McCarthy, a gallery of images from the vote and a regularly-updated news story: our Q&A and interactive guide are also required reading. Keep coming back to Guardian Unlimited during the weekend for regular updates on the latest developments.
Meanwhile the Guardian's readers' editor, Ian Mayes, is taking part in an online chat at 2.30pm today. If you want to know more about what Ian does, read his terms of reference and this brief restatement of intent. I should also point out that Ian will not be discussing decisions made by Guardian Unlimited Talk moderators, as he is not directly involved in these decisions. If you want to discuss these issues, please visit our questions for the moderators thread.
