Medvedev’s bizarre cheapo watch is the talk of the internet

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was spotted last week on a visit to an orphanage outside Moscow wearing a bizarrely chunky black digital watch. It quickly became the talk of the internet and Russian bloggers have worked out that Medvedev (right) was wearing a Chinese MPW – a Mobile Phone Watch.

Available over the internet for $120, it functions as a watch, phone and camera. The cheap and chunky gadget marks him out from his predecessor and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (left), who was fond of expensive Swiss watches and has been photographed wearing a $60,000 Patek Phillipe number.

It also fits in with Medvedev's tech-savvy image – something he shares with incoming US president and Blackberry addict Barack Obama. The Russian president says he checks the internet every morning, and has even started his own video blog.

Eight months after he was presented with the presidency by Putin – who as everyone in Moscow knows is still the boss - Medvedev made a rare criticism of Putin’s government this week when he accused it of being too slow to implement his measures to head off a financial crisis. Let’s hope he doesn’t make a habit of it: or he’ll more time on his hands than he’s bargained for.