WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama felt humbled to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a senior administration official said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called before dawn and woke Obama with the news that he had won the prestigious honor which was announced in Oslo at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT). The president was humbled to be selected by the committee, the official said.

When told in an e-mail from Reuters that many people around the world were stunned by the announcement, Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, responded, As are we.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Editing by Jackie Frank)