The Australian Government has raised its travel warnings as Egypt continues its descent into chaos and the death toll continues to rise.

More than 100 people have been killed in the five days of unprecedented protests that have rocked the Arab world, with thousands demanding president Hosni Mubarak resign to make way for free and fair elections for the first time in decades.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) advice says there is ongoing civil unrest and the high threat of a terrorist attack.

Smartraveller, the Australian Government's travel adviser, has released an updated warning for Egypt with the advice level of 'Do not travel'.

"We advise you not to travel to Egypt because of ongoing civil unrest and the high threat of terrorist attack," the website said.

"If you are currently in Egypt, and concerned about the security situation, you should leave if it is safe to do so.

"The situation remains unpredictable and may deteriorate quickly. Demonstrations could occur in any part of Egypt. Australians should avoid all demonstrations as they may turn violent."

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says that at this stage there is no information to suggest Australians have been caught up in the violence, or need help to leave the country.

"The embassy in Cairo has been actively contacting registered Australians, of whom there are more than 800 in Egypt," he said.

"On top of that, [it has been] contacting the major tourist hotels where Australians travelling to Egypt would normally be accommodated.

"This is a difficult task because mobile telephone communications have been disrupted from time to time."

Looted stores, burnt out cars and the stench of blazing tyres fill the streets of Cairo as Mr Mubarak seeks to bargain with angry crowds and security forces struggle to contain looters.

Police have shot dead 17 people in Bani Suef, south of Cairo, as street battles intensified in some towns, even as police seemed to leave much of Cairo to the army, an institution generally respected by Egyptians and less associated with oppression.

Demonstrators and soldiers chatted amicably in the capital, but after dark, while some pursued their political goals by defying a curfew, others roamed for booty.

Cairo is teetering on the edge of anarchy, with widespread looting and violent clashes across the city.

Mobs have stormed into supermarkets, banks, jewellery shops and government buildings, while thieves at the Egyptian Museum damaged two mummies from the time of the pharaohs.

In some areas there is order, imposed not by the police or army, but by groups of citizen vigilantes armed with sticks, metal bars and knives.

They are protecting their homes and businesses by manning makeshift checkpoints, stopping cars and checking for stolen goods.

The police now are almost nonexistent and the army is focused on protecting key buildings, with reports of shootings outside government premises.

Succession plan?

Mr Mubarak has offered the first glimpse of a plan to step down and 80 million long-suffering Egyptians are caught between hope for democratic reform and fear of chaos.

He bowed to protesters and earlier named a vice-president for the first time, a move seen as lining up Omar Suleiman, his chief of intelligence, as an eventual successor, at least for a transition. Many also saw it as ending his son Gamal's long-surmised ambitions to take over.

Fearful of a descent into anarchy, some Egyptians were reassured by signs Mr Mubarak may be readying a handover of power within the military establishment that has run the biggest Arab state since British-backed King Farouk fled in 1952.

'Mubarak must step down'

Free elections are likely to be the only outcome that will satisfy many of Egypt's disenfranchised citizens.

As in Tunis, Egypt's exploding young population, most of them underemployed and frustrated by oppression at the hands of a corrupt and rapacious elite, are demanding a full clear-out of the old guard, not just a reshuffle of the governing class.

Those on the streets of Cairo, a teeming megalopolis of 15 million that is the biggest city in the Middle East, have scented weakness and remain impatient for the president to go now.

Mohammed Essawy, a 26-year-old graduate student, said of the appointments: "This is not acceptable. Mubarak must step down. Public unrest will not stop until this is achieved."

Saad Mohammed, 45, a welder said: "We are not demanding a change of cabinet. We want them all to leave - Mubarak before anyone else."

The situation, set off by the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, has the potential to engulf the region and all eyes are fixed on how the Egyptian president deals with the crisis.

The United States and European powers are busy tearing up their Middle East policies, which have supported Mr Mubarak at the head of the most populous Arab nation for 30 years, turning a blind eye to police brutality and corruption in return for a solid bulwark against first communism and now militant Islam.

While clearly anxious to avoid an anarchic collapse that might destabilise a region that is vital to world oil supplies, Mr Mubarak's allies in Western governments appear to share a sense that what has happened so far does not go far enough.

In Washington, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said: "The Egyptian government can't reshuffle the deck and then stand pat."

In Europe, the German, French and British leaders issued a joint statement thanking Mr Mubarak for his contribution to stability in the Middle East - Egypt led the way in agreeing to a peace with Israel - but demanding that he now start the move to free elections, a move that would certainly end his power.

- ABC/Reuters