Chinese Premier 10th most popular politician on Facebook 20,136 "friends" at the last count

29 May 2008 11:20 GMT / By Katie Scott

People all over the world seem to be showing their support for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake by signing up as Facebook friends to the Chinese Premier.

Wen Jiabao is now the 10th most popular politician on the social networking site.

At last count, "Grandpa Wen" had 20,136 supporters.

In a Facebook photo album called "Wenchuan Earthquake", Wen has been photographed in a black jacket, addressing a crowd in the quake zone.

The 1868 posts on Wen's Facebook Wall, which are in English and Chinese, include the belief that the Chinese leader should be a role model to politicians around the world.

But what is not known, however, is who set up the profile page.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said he had not heard of the site when asked to comment at a regular news conference.