Ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim has been voted the second most popular Asian Hero for 2004, after Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in an online poll conducted by Time magazine.

The international news magazine had given readers a shortlist of 20 candidates from which to choose their 'hero' over the past two weeks.

They included Korea's political prisoner-turned-president Kim Dae Jung and China's Olympic gold medalist Liu Xiang.

Anwar received 33,379 (39.5 percent) of the 93.022 votes cast.

"Even the darkest of (prison) cells couldn't extinguish his courage and fortitude. He is Malaysia's and Asia's new beacon for freedom and democracy," said a fan who nominated him.

Anwar had begun serving a sentence for sodomy when the Federal Court quashed the conviction and freed him on Sept 2.

He had earlier completed a prison sentence for corrupt practice, which bars him from taking active part in politics until April 2008.

Anwar is currently in Germany recuperating from surgery to correct a slipped disc, but is due to return to Malaysia later this month.

'Steadfast belief'

Suu Kyi received 40.4 percent of the vote for "steadiness and steadfast belief in the powers of democracy and peaceful protest".

"Hundreds of readers wrote in to nominate (Suu Kyi) as Asia's online hero, many praising her courage and integrity," said the magazine's website.

A Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest but "remains a beacon of hope for her people" in fighting for democracy in Burma.

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama came in third and Anuradha Koirala - a Nepalese activist who helps rescue those sold into prostitution and slavery - was ranked fourth.