Microsoft's Ballmer Pelted With Eggs

Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, narrowly avoided getting egg on his face on Monday when a furious Hungarian student began pelting him with missiles during a lecture at a university in Budapest.

In an incident caught on video which has fast become a YouTube hit, the boss of the world's biggest software company was obliged to take cover under a desk at Corvinus University to avoid a one-man protest by a portly, bespectacled individual in a white shirt.

The interruption happened just as Ballmer began addressing the students by asking, in avuncular fashion, how many of them were studying for imminent exams.

"Hey, you!" yelled the protester, standing up in the audience.

In heavily accented English, the angry student accused Microsoft of stealing an indecipherable figure "from the Hungarian people". He continued: "Give the money back, right now!"

An onslaught of three eggs missed Ballmer but hit a white board just above him as the billionaire software chief crouched to the floor.

Having delivered his message, the student abruptly walked out of the room, muttering in Hungarian. His shirt had "Microsoft = corruption" scrawled on the back.

Hungarian news reports suggested that the student was upset that the country's government has awarded a contract to Microsoft to provide software and IT training to local professionals under a program called Titan.

Although he looked briefly shaken, Ballmer laughed off the attack, telling his audience: "It was a friendly disruption ... that broke my train of thought."

The episode comes as Microsoft continues delicate negotiations over a possible takeover or partnership with Yahoo.

It is not the first time that Ballmer has unwittingly starred in a viral video. A few years ago, a clip of him running around a stage at a conference, pumping his fists and screaming to a Gloria Estefan track became an online hit.

In the incident, dubbed a "monkey dance" by bloggers, a clearly emotional Ballmer raised his arms, revealing large sweat patches, and bellowed: "I have four words for ya - I love this company!"