While al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden doesn't mind a hug, he's not big on lip-to-face contact, says an Australian convicted of receiving funds from al Qaeda.

An excerpt from the BBC story:

Joseph "Jack" Thomas, who met Bin Laden three times in Afghanistan, discussed the al-Qaeda leader's preferences in an interview broadcast after his trial.

Thomas, 32, also said his own love of beer had made his conversion to Islam, which bans alcohol, a dilemma.

Thomas is still to be sentenced but his lawyers say he plans to appeal.

An interview with Thomas was shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners programme on Monday and other details have also been published in The Age.

"I never really thought I'd be a Muslim," he told ABC. "I'd say, 'Oh look, you know, I really love your religion but I really love my beer'."

Thomas was found guilty of accepting $3,500 (£2,000) and a plane ticket home from an al-Qaeda agent in Pakistan and possessing a false passport. He was cleared of intentionally providing resources for al-Qaeda. ...

Thomas said he once shook hands with Bin Laden at an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden was "very polite and humble and shy. He didn't like too many kisses... he didn't mind being hugged but kisses he didn't like and he just seemed to float... across the floor," Thomas told ABC.