In Pakistan, a radical Islamic group used the anniversary to protest American policies in Iraq. "We are holding these rallies to tell the people that America is the enemy of peace," Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, deputy leader of a coalition, told The Associated Press.

The family of Orasri Liangthanasan, one of two Thai women killed at the World Trade Center in New York City, was to gather at a Buddhist temple in Bangkok to pray and perform a traditional merit making ceremony.

Orasri's eldest brother, Sathaporn, said the family still kept her bedroom furnished with the young woman's belongings and photographs, according to The Bangkok Post newspaper.

The family built a Buddhist meditation house in northern Lampang province and established a memorial fund at a Bangkok hospital to help keep Orasri's memory alive, the newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, Bangkok police stepped up security at embassies and other international venues around the Thai capital to guard against any possible attacks on the anniversary Saturday, reports said.

In Japan, a top government spokesman acknowledged the loss of "many precious lives, including those of 24 Japanese" in the Sept. 11 attacks, which triggered other attacks around the world.

"We are entering a period in which one terrorist attack leads to another," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told reporters. "Each country should make efforts and also work closely globally to prevent this despicable crime of terrorism."

Australia's major political parties kept campaigning for the country's Oct. 9 federal elections low key, refraining from announcing any new policies.

In the southern city of Melbourne, a mosque opened its doors for a multifaith commemoration of the terror strikes, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Australia - a strong U.S. ally in the war on terror - paused to remember not only the Sept. 11 attacks but also Thursday's deadly bombing of its embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, which killed nine Indonesians were killed.

Indonesia - the world's largest Muslim nation - was preoccupied with the aftermath of the suicide attack, and the Sept. 11 anniversary went unmentioned by the media or the government. Anger runs high there over the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

In Pakistan, the anniversary sparked fears of possible security threats, and authorities deployed hundreds of extra police and paramilitary soldiers to embassies, government buildings and other potential targets.

Officials said they would not allow protests or rallies to disrupt the peace.

"Our security are already alert and doing their work well, but due to third anniversary of the 9/11 events, we have asked them to be extra vigilant and alert," Interior Ministry spokesman Abdur Rauf Chaudhry said.

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