Murdoch's wife becomes internet sensation

Wendi Deng, the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, became an instant hit on the internet after she quickly came to his aid when he was hit during a Commons hearing on the phone hacking scandal, the Telegraph reported.

Twitter was set alight with praise for 42-year-old Wendi, with comments suggesting she had made the hearing worth watching, it said.

Wendi, who came from middle-class China to marry one of the world's most powerful media moguls, gave a dramatic stand-by-your-man display.

She was dubbed 'Smack Down Sister' on Chinese websites.

The Yale University business school graduate, yoga devotee and former News Corp employee reacted faster than anyone else seated around Murdoch, including his son James, when the incident took place.

The hearing in the News of the World phone hacking case by a British parliamentary panel was interrupted by a man throwing a shaving-cream pie at her 80-year-old husband.

She sprang from her seat behind her husband to smack the assailant, in a scene witnessed by millions around the world on television Tuesday.

Wendi made the embattled News Corp chief look vulnerable, and herself strong. Her reaction also helped to take some of the heat off of Murdoch who had looked tired.

"That's our Wendi," said Vanity Fair writer Michael Wolff, author of a Murdoch biography.