Mikhail Gorbachev announces nominees for his award

MOSCOW (AP) — U2 lead singer Bono, film director Steven Spielberg and Google's (News - Alert) Sergei Brin are among the nine nominees of the Mikhail Gorbachev award.

The former Soviet leader said Thursday the winners of "The Man Who Changed the World" award will be announced on March 30 in London, during a charitable concert dedicated to his 80th anniversary.

Other nominees include World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners–Lee, ex–Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Martin Cooper (News - Alert) who invented the cellular phone.

Gorbachev said each nominee contributed to "changing the world we're living in."

He turned 80–years old last Wednesday.

Revered in the West for liberal reforms that led to the collapse of Communism, he has been reviled at home, where many hold him responsible for the breakup of the Soviet Union.

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