Ilham Anas, 34, is already a celebrity in Jakarta, Where U.S. Barack Obama once lived, but his fame is spreading.He has appeared on Indonesia's premier TV talk show, done an advertisement as Barack Obama, and received other marketing offers from companies in the region.
The real Barack Obama went to school in Jakarta in the late 1960s, when his classmates knew him as Barry.
Mr Anas told Reuters news agency: "I was in the airport in Malaysia in transit and a man approached me and asked: 'Are you Obama?'. I was very surprised when he asked to take a picture together and bought me a meal."
Mr Anas's increasing popularity arose after his colleagues, at a local teenage magazine, asked him to pose with a suit, tie and American flag, following President Barack Obama's election victory in November.
Soon, they were taking photos and sending them to friends. "The pictures spread very quickly on the internet. It was phenomenal. Then TV stations and an advertising agency got in touch with me," he said.
Ilham was born and raised in Bandung, West Java. He says he is happy to cash in but there are limits.
"I will take all the opportunities that come my way, as long as they don't violate ethical codes and my personal values," he told AFP news agency.
He admits that all the attention has given him something of a boost. "I'm actually a shy person. I don't like being put in the spotlight."
"I see my resemblance to Obama as a blessing. I used to look at the mirror and I had a negative perception of myself."
Many Indonesians have a keen interest in President Barack Obama, who lived in Jakarta for four years after his American mother, Ann Dunham, married Indonesian Lolo Soetoro following the end of her marriage to Barack Obama's Kenyan father.
I'm REALLY interested in hearing thoughts on this one!
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