Suu Kyi named world's greatest living hero

Other notable figures in the list are Bob Geldof (3rd), John Pilger (4th) and Dalai Lama (9th).

A London-based magazine has named Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as the world's greatest living "hero."

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According to a readers survey conducted by the New Statesman magazine Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, won double the number of votes than the second-placed candidate - former South African president Nelson Mandela, Mizzima News reported on Saturday.

The magazine described Suu Kyi as "a fitting winner...and a true hero of this or any other time".

"There are no selection criteria," said Tim, head of the magazine's marketing department. "We didn't set any criteria agenda, (it's) purely by our readers."

Nearly 1,486 readers participated in the survey and unanimously selected Suu Kyi as the greatest "hero" of our time, Tim said.

Others notable figures who made the list included pop star-turned-rights campaigner Bob Geldof (3rd), journalist and broadcaster John Pilger (4th) and spiritual leader Dalai Lama (9th).

Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She has spent more than 10 of the past 17 years in prison or under house arrest. Her current term of incarceration began in May 2003, following a deadly junta-backed mob attack on her motorcade in central Myanmar.