Dr Rice, whom Colonel Gaddafi has referred to as 'my darling black African woman,' told reporters travelling with her on Sunday that the Libyan leader also gave her a ring as well as a lute.

Dr Rice, or 'Leezza' as Colonel Gaddafi called her, said she reciprocated with a china plate embossed with the seal of the United States and autographed by her.

She said he was gracious about the plate. 'It is beautiful,' she quoted him as saying.

Another memento of her landmark Tripoli visit on Friday - the first by a US secretary of state in more than half a century - was a copy of Colonel Gaddafi's personal doctrine, or the Green Book. The leader whom the late President Ronald Reagan once called the 'mad dog of the Middle East' inscribed it: 'With respect and admiration.'

According to State Department rules, gifts given during official visits are not part of Dr Rice's personal collection. -- REUTERS