Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was Tuesday on track to secure a third term in office, two exit polls released by Denmark's leading broadcasters said.

Both exit polls suggested Rasmussen's centre-right minority government of Liberals and Conservatives along with their parliamentary backers the Danish People's Party would secure 87 seats in the 179-seat parliament.

Along with five votes from the newly formed centrist New Alliance party, the ruling bloc would garner 92 seats, down two compared to the 2005 elections.

"It seems like a majority favours a continued Rasmussen government," Lars Lokke Rasmussen, vice chairman of the premier's Liberal Party and member of his cabinet, said.

Should the exit polls concur with the final vote count, the premier will likely need to use his skills as a broker to ensure support from both New Alliance and the Danish People's Party that have opposing stances on several issues, including immigration.

New Alliance, headed by Syrian-born Naser Khader, has stated that one of its goals was to remove the Danish People's Party veto over government policy.

The populists have backed the minority government since 2001.

The opposition - headed by Helle Thorning-Schmidt of the Social Democrats and their allies the Social Liberals, the Socialist People's Party and the Unity List - was on 83 seats, the exit polls said.

The Socialist People's Party more than doubled their 11 seats from the outgoing parliament, while the Social Democrats dropped one seat.

The exit polls from commercial broadcaster TV2 and public broadcaster DR were released while voting was still underway. Polling stations closed at 8 pm (1900 GMT).

During the day, voters have streamed to polling stations suggesting a higher turnout than the 84.5 per cent that voted in February 2005.

Rasmussen called the parliamentary elections three weeks ago. He has been in office since 2001 and was re-elected in 2005.

Roughly 4 million voters were eligible to vote to decide the composition of the 179-seat parliament, including four seats decided by the self-ruling Greenland and Faroe Islands.

Results from the North Atlantic islands were not due until Wednesday, and traditionally they do not form part of the government's parliamentary backing.