PETALING JAYA, Malaysia: The case of model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who is to be caned for drinking beer, has caught international attention.

From Australia to Indonesia, Thailand, China, Germany, the United States and Britain, news of her impending sentence has thrust Kartika into the international limelight and into most blog chats.

CNN (Cable News Network), BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and other leading television stations have also highlighted her case as one of the top stories of the day.

They carried a story of her predicament yesterday, especially when her sentence was temporarily aborted because of the fasting month.

It was also among the top stories for CNN and BBC with both websites listing it as the fifth most popularly read story.

A Google search for her full name resulted in 63,900 hits while there were over 1,700 news stories on Kartika.

There was also a Facebook account listed as 'HELP Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno'