WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama hinted at the lethal force he will bring to bear on intruders who float past his security detail when he squashed a fly during an interview at the White House.

Midway through answering a question during an interview filmed on Tuesday with financial news network CNBC, the commander-in-chief found himself the focus of a particularly pesky critter buzzing around his head.

'Hey, get out of here!' he said, cutting short an answer about the US financial system to wave the fly away.

When the bug stopped on Mr Obama's left wrist, the most powerful man in the world steadied himself, stiffened his lower lip in concentration, and killed it with a swift - and loud - slap of his right hand.

'Now, where were we?' a grinning Mr Obama asked as the fly lay motionless on the carpet.

'That was pretty impressive, wasn't it?' he quipped, before encouraging the cameraman to zoom in on the president's victim.

'I got the sucker.'

Almost immediately, comedy mashups of the presidential swat popped up on the Internet and cable television, while People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal protection group, said it sent Mr Obama its 'Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher' for the next time he is pestered by an insect. -- AFP