In a reversal of their original statement, Georgian authorities now concede that the hand grenade found near President Bush during his visit to the former Soviet republic was a live weapon and did pose a danger to Mr. Bush's safety.

The U.S. Embassy in Tblisi released a statement Wednesday saying, 'A hand grenade was tossed in the general direction of the main stage and landed within 100 feet of the podium. From initial qualified inspection, this hand grenade appears to be a live device that simply failed to function due to a light strike on the blasting cap induced by a slow deployment of the spoon activation device.'

The statement concluded that 'We consider this act to be a threat against the health and welfare of both the president of the United States and the president of Georgia, as well as the multitude of Georgian people that had turned out at the event.'

Previously, Georgian authorities had insisted that the grenade was a 'non-combative' model and was used only in training drills. They claimed it did not contain explosives.

The FBI and Georgian authorities were continuing their investigation into the grenade attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the action.

Presently, a reward of 20,000 Georgian laris (worth approximately $9,000) is being offered in exchange for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the throwing of the grenade.