The Iraqi information minister became a celebrity for his optimistic outlook as the Allied invasion of Baghdad loomed.

Now footage of his briefings has been gathered for a DVD and video release, Comical Ali, in the near future.

Producers of the video are donating 10% of profits to the Red Cross for Third World aid.

Ali - real name Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf - has already appeared as a cult figure on best-selling t-shirts after finding fame with his rants.

As US forces were reported to have taken over Baghdad's airport, he famously declared: "They are nowhere near the airport, they are lost in the desert ... they cannot read a compass ... they are retarded."

A spokesman for the firm behind the video, which calls itself the Baghdad Broadcasting Corporation, said: "The media throws up unlikely heroes, men or women that touch us, those that triumph in the face of hardship and adversity, those that strike a resonant note in these beleaguered times.

"And the last 12 months has given us one such man, a warrior of unshakeable belief, a titan amongst publicists, a hero for the modern media age."