Lahore, Dec 16 : The shoes thrown by an Iraqi journalist at United States President George W Bush in Iraq has gained `immortal fame'.

According to an Arab TV channel, a Saudi citizen has offered 10 million dollars to buy the shoes thrown at the US president by TV reporter Muntazeral Zaidi who was detained after being accused of a `barbaric act' by the Iraqi government.

Thousands of Iraqi citizens protested for Zaidi's release, calling him a national hero, the Daily Times reported.

Earlier, the US president had said, "I don't know what the guy's cause is, I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it."

Thousands of Shiites marched in his support in a slum of Baghdad. On the blogosphere, people hailed Muntader al-Zaidi as a folk hero and prayed for his welfare.

Across a gleeful Arab world yesterday, al-Zaidi, the shoe-tossing Iraqi journalist who protested at President George W. Bush''s news conference, had grown into an iconic figure, lauded as a patriot who eloquently expressed the popular mood.

While emotions ran high on the Arab street, the incident also raised questions about security lapses during Bush''s farewell tour. (ANI)