Fe b 20 07 Every place admits local uniformization in a finite extension of the function field

We prove that every place P of an algebraic function field F |K of arbitrary characteristic admits local uniformization in a finite extension F of F. We show that F|F can be chosen to be Galois, after a finite purely inseparable extension of the ground field K. Instead of being Galois, the extension can also be chosen such that the induced extension FP |F P of the residue fields is purely inseparable and the value group of F only gets divided by the residue characteristic. If F lies in the completion of an Abhyankar place, then no extension of F is needed. Our proofs are based solely on valuation theoretical theorems, which are of particular importance in positive characteristic. They are also applicable when working over a subring R ⊂ K and yield similar results if R is regular and of dimension smaller than 3.