Athens - More than 4,000 students hurled eggs, oranges and flour at police outside Athens' main police headquarters Monday in a second week of anti-government protests, sparked by the police shooting of a teenager.

The students, yelling "You have got old, fat and have forgotten," blocked one of the Greek capital's main avenues and threw projectiles at riot police, who eventually responded with teargas.

Protesters also hurled eggs at police outside the main courthouse on the other side of town, where hearings went ahead involving dozens of people arrested during the country's worst riots in decades.

Across the country, students have occupied nearly 600 school buildings in protest.

While the police shooting sparked the outbreak of violence on December 6, students have gone on to protest the fate of young Greeks reeling under economic hardship and the impact of a global recession on Greece's 240-billion-euro economy.

Widespread anger has grown over the economic polices of the conservative government, which have caused a widening social gap and rising unemployment.

The official unemployment figure is near 9 per cent and rising, leaving many young people disillusioned. Students have expressed anger over investing a lot in their education, but with few prospects.

"I finished my studies in business management five years ago but I could not find anything in my field, so I have had to resort to being a sales clerk," said Evgenia Kokori.

The 28-year-old, who works in the Levi's section of Attica department store in central Athens, summed up the frustrations of many similarly-placed of her generation.

Riots which have spread to all corners of the country have been the worst in decades, destroying hundreds of shops, banks, buildings and cars in eight cities including Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras. Damage in Athens alone has been estimated at more than 200 million euros.

Masses of hooded youths and self-styled anarchists have been smashing windows, looting shops and setting up flaming barricades in streets across the country. More than 500 people have been arrested.

The intensity of the protests and riots died down over the weekend, and Athens was peaceful on Sunday. But students, unions and leftists groups have called demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday against education and pension reforms, privatizations and rising taxes.

Further protest were planned for Monday outside parliament, while an anarchist group has called an evening march to parliament.

Shop owners said business has dropped 90 per cent in the center of Athens while tourism is down by 30 per cent.

Amid the intensity of the protests, public criticism of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and the perceived aloofness of his ruling conservative government to the civil unrest has been increasing.

An opinion poll published Sunday by Kathimerini newspaper said public disapproval at the government reached 68 per cent, with 60 per cent of those polled saying the riots were a social uprising rather than an outburst by an isolated fringe of violent protesters.

The two policemen charged with killing the teenager have been jailed pending trial. One claimed he fired warning shots after being attacked by youths in Exarchia, a neighbourhood frequented by leftists and self- styled anarchists. (dpa)