Penn praised by Chavez during visit to Venezuela

Oscar winner Sean Penn's anti-war stance has been praised by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez during the actor's visit to the South American country.

Penn is on a fact-finding tour of the nation, visiting poverty-stricken areas of the capital Caracas, and he spoke with Chavez on the phone.

The president publicised the visit by making a televised speech to the nation.

He said: "Welcome to Venezuela, Mr Penn. What drives him is consciousness, the search for new paths. He's one of the greatest opponents of the Iraq invasion."

He also read a letter Penn wrote to US President George W Bush, condemning the war and calling for him to be impeached.

Chavez also confessed to being a fan of Penn's work, and said: "he's made great films", and revealing he recently watched Mystic River, the 2003 film that won Penn his Academy Award.