'Shut up' Chavez is ringtone hit

[gkd_uk]

The king of Spain's recent undiplomatic outburst at the Venezuelan president has become a ringtone hit across Spain.
An estimated 500,000 people have downloaded the insult featuring the words "Why don't you shut up?", generating a reported 1.5m euros ($2m).

King Juan Carlos asked Hugo Chavez to "shut up" at a summit in Chile last week after the president said Spain's ex-PM Jose Maria Aznar was a "fascist".

Branded mugs, t-shirts and websites featuring the row are also profitable.

In Venezuela, a group of students who oppose Mr Chavez's government have also been downloading the ringtone, a US newspaper reported.

"It's a form of protest," a 21-year-old student in Caracas told the Miami Herald. "It's something that a lot of people would like to tell the president."

Companies selling the ringtones have avoided legal problems concerning breach of the king's image rights by using an actor to voice the line.

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