Shilpa Shetty’s popularity seems to be increasing with each passing day. Joining the dusky beauty’s long list of admirers is Britain's new Prime Minister, James Gordon Brown. The new PM, who recently took over from Tony Blair "has always had a special interest in India and has addressed our country as pulsating and dynamic," said Shilpa Shetty's spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar, in an interview this week.

Shilpa Shetty" src="http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/images/uploads/pm_shilpa_big.jpg" align="right" border="" hspace="5" vspace="5">Bhagwagar was asked about the newly appointed British prime minister, in regard to the political stalwart's earlier comments and support to actress Shilpa Shetty.

During a diplomatic visit to India in January 2007, Brown responded to questions concerning perceived racism and bullying against Shetty on the British reality TV show 'Celebrity Big Brother' saying, "There is a lot of support for Shilpa. It is pretty clear we are getting the message across. Britain is a nation of tolerance and fairness."

Condemning the incidents on the reality show, he later stressed, the racism debate showed that Britain wanted to be "defined by being a tolerant, fair and decent country." He was also said to have advised a vote for Shilpa at the height of the controversy.

When quizzed about the Brit PM’s high words of praise and support, Shilpa said, "I am absolutely overwhelmed with the love and respect shown to me by the people in Britain. All I want to say is that I will never ever forget it and strive to come up to everyone's expectations."

"Shilpa has received respect, love and affection of a lifetime from Britons. It is something all Indians would proudly remember for years to come," added Bhagwagar. Looks like Shilpa Shetty currently is without doubt ‘the hottest thing from Asia’ in the West.

-Sneha Hazarika (SAMPURN)