Baghdad: The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush might get a young wife as a reward for his defiance.

An Egyptian man on Wednesday offered his daughter's hand in marriage to shoe-tossing TV reporter Muntazar al-Zaidi, who is being hailed as a hero across the Middle East.

"This is something that would honour me," said the man's daughter Amal Saad Gumaa (20) of Cairo. "I would like to live in Iraq, especially if I were attached to this hero."

Her father, Saad Gumaa, called Al-Zaidi's brother, to tell him of the offer. "I find nothing more valuable than my daughter to offer to him, and I am prepared to provide her with everything needed for marriage," he added.