Bush shoe toss now a web game

Source: Agencies  |   2008-12-18  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE shoe-throwing incident at an Iraqi news conference with George W. Bush has inspired an Internet game where the player hurls footwear at a moving target of the United States president.

The game, which has been circulated by e-mail, gives players 30 seconds to try to hit Bush with a brown shoe as many times as possible, with the score appearing in the top left hand corner of the screen.

Players are greeted with the command: "OBJECTIVE: Hit President Bush in the face with your shoes! Do it!" On-target shots are met with a message of congratulations: "Shoes have successfully hit President Bush in his face. Well done!"

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki can be seen peeping over a lectern next to Bush in the mock-up of the now-infamous joint news briefing on Sunday when an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the president who ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Television reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi became an instant sensation in the Arab world. Zaidi, who admitted his action in court on Tuesday, remains in custody pending an investigation by the judge. He could be sent for trial.

The game appears on the site www.sockandawe.com - a pun on "shock and awe" - the term used by US military officials to describe the initial air assault on Baghdad in 2003.

In the game, Bush turns purple and his face takes on a flummoxed look when the shoe strikes the target.