President George W. Bush took his message of liberty to Freedom Square, the focus of Georgia's "rose revolution", and told thousands of cheering Georgians they were "a beacon for democracy" in the world.

Mr Bush called the revolution 18 months ago in the former Soviet state one of the most powerful moments in history. "It inspired others around the world who want to live in a free society," he said. The turnout for Mr Bush's speech - the culmination of a four-country tour that included Latvia and Russia - at least matched the crowds who gathered late in 2003 to back the bloodless coup that brought the pro-western Mikheil Saakashvili to power.