George W Bush fends off shoes in new viral computer game

By Claudine Beaumont

Bush's Boot Camp: George W Bush fends off shoes in new viral computer game
An Iraqi journalist's shoe-throwing attack on George W Bush has been immortalised in an online video game called Bush's Boot Camp
Bush's Boot Camp: George W Bush fends off shoes in new viral computer game
In the game, players take on the role of an armed secret service agent who has to shoot shoes out of the air

Players of Bush's Boot Camp take on the role of a gun-toting security agent, and must shoot shoes out of the air before they can hit the hapless president.

Television reporter Muntadar al-Zaidi was tackled to the ground by Secret Service personnel yesterday after he started to throw his shoes at Geroge W Bush during a press conference in Iraq. The footwear missed the president, who ducked just in time, but Mr Zaidi was bundled from the room yelling: "This is a farewell kiss, you dog," at the President.

Footage of the attack has already been viewed more than half a million times on video-sharing site YouTube, and the viral computer game is proving popular with internet users.

"If you watch the video clip, the Secret Service don't move to protect the President until the second shoe has been thrown," said Sadi Chishti, managing director of T-Enterprise, the Glasgow-based company behind the computer game. "We're hoping the agents will use this game as a training aid for future footwear attacks on world leaders."

Players use their mouse to aim the crosshairs of their gun and fire their weapon. President Bush loses "health points" every time he is accidentally shot, or hit with a shoe, and the game ends when his health meter reaches zero.

For President Bush, who leaves office on Jan 20 when President-Elect Barack Obama is officially inaugurated, the shoe-throwing incident is the latest in a long line of gaffes, errors and unfortunate incidents that have marked his time in the White House. Mr Bush famously choked on a pretzel while watching an NFL American Football match between the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens. and fell off a Segway electric scooter. He also observed a military display through a pair of binoculars that still had their lens cap on.

T-Enterprise has a track record for developing funny viral games based on newsworthy events. Shortly after the disastrous opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in April, it launched a game in which players controlled a cartoon version of Willie Walsh, British Airway's chief executive, to collect baggage, scan it in the x-ray machine, and then load it on to the conveyor belt while avoiding rogue luggage trolleys. In March, it released a game in which players helped Heather Mills collect the £24.3 million settlement she won following her divorce from Sir Paul McCartney by throwing water around a courtroom, while in September, it pitted Alaskan polar bears against US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, in a game that criticised the Alaskan governor's environmental record.