US President Barack Obama has accepted the Nobel Prize for Peace in the Norwegian capital Oslo.

There has been widespread criticism of the decision to award the prize to the US president because he is said to have accomplished very little in the short time he has been in office. In his acceptance speech, Mr Obama said some others were more deserving of the prize.

He said his achievements were not on a par with earlier laureates such as Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa. He considers the prize an encouragement to work towards global peace and security.
 

Nobel Committee Chair Thorbjorn Hagland said the US president won the award because of his achievements to date, but also to encourage ongoing peace processes. Mr Hagland said this was also the case when the Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to the then Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the former German chancellor, Willy Brandt.

The Nobel Prize for Peace includes a cash award of about one million euros.

Photos: Barack Obama signs the Nobel Committee guest book (EPA) 

           Barack and Michelle Obama just ahead of the acceptance ceremony (EPA)