US President Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Price for what the awards committee in Oslo called his efforts to promote international peace and his attempt to help create a world free of nuclear weapons.

Critics of the Nobel panel's decision say that Obama has not done enough to warrant the prize. But the US president has said that he does not view the award as a recognition of his accomplishments, and that he instead sees it as a call to action.

Nick Spicer reports from Washington DC.