  In this paper, we consider the asymptotic behavior of solutions to the wave
equation with space-dependent damping in an exterior domain. We prove that when
the damping is effective, the solution is approximated by that of the
corresponding heat equation as time tends to infinity. Our proof is based on
semigroup estimates for the corresponding heat equation and weighted energy
estimates for the damped wave equation. The optimality of the decay late for
solutions is also established.
