Baghdad  - A sculpture of an enormous bronze-coloured shoe was unveiled on Thursday in honour of the Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at then-US president George W Bush in December.

The huge sculpture, made of fiberglass and coated with copper, was erected at an orphanage complex in the northern city of Tikrit, which was the hometown of late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein, CNN reported on Thursday.

Assisted by children at the orphanage, sculptor Laith al-Amiri erected a replica of one of the shoes Iraqi journalist Muntazer al- Zaidi threw at Bush during the press conference he held with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad last month.

Al-Zaidi, who is now imprisoned and awaiting trial, is regarded by many Iraqis as a hero and demonstrators last month took to the streets all over the Arab world calling for his release.

Al-Amari insisted it was not a political work, but a "source of pride for all Iraqis." dpa