Ex-US Vice President Al Gore to split from wife Tipper

Former US Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper are separating after 40 years of marriage.

The 2000 Democratic presidential candidate and his wife cited "a mutual and mutually supportive decision", in an e-mail to friends.

Mr Gore, Bill Clinton's vice president, won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change.

Mrs Gore is a longtime advocate on mental health issues. The couple married in May 1970.

The couple, who were both born in the Washington area and met there, have been living in Tennessee. They have four children.

In an e-mail to friends and supporters obtained by US news organisations, the couple said they had decided to separate after "long and careful consideration".

They asked for privacy and said they intended no further comment.