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Polarized {sup 3}He obtained from metastability exchange optical pumping is used for various double polarized experiments at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI). At the experimental area more than 70% initial target polarization is available. Besides a description of the target setup and its performance under electron beam conditions, the status of the polarized {sup 3}He target for the tagged photon beam at MAMI will be given.

The experimental check of the GDH sum rule is being performed at the tagged photon facilities of the electron accelerators MAMI (Mainz) and ELSA (Bonn), using circularly polarized photons impinging on a longitudinally polarized proton target, together with detector systems covering almost the whole solid angle range. Results from the MAMI experiment for the double polarized total photoabsorption cross section in the low energy region (200 MeV < Eγ < 800 MeV) will be shown together with their contribution to the GDH sum rule. Furthermore first results from the ELSA experiment in the higher energy region (680 MeV < Eγ < 1900 MeV) will be presented.