A 23-year-old Maltese has won a Facebook competition to form part of the EU delegation at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on Monday.

Having the opportunity to receive this prestigious prize on behalf of more than 500 million Europeans will be a unique experience

Larkin Zahra was one of the 5,397 Europeans who took part in the contest.

His entry was among the 16 that were shortlisted for the Facebook vote, which closed at midnight on Sunday.

It turned out to be a very close competition between Mr Zahra and another contestant from Italy.

Mr Zahra won with 8,094 votes, 128 more than his near-est rival.

“I’d like to thank all the Maltese who helped make this happen,” said Mr Zahra.

“Having the opportunity to receive this prestigious prize on behalf of more than 500 million Europeans will be a truly unique experience.”

Last month the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the EU for its contribution to the advancement of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe for more than six decades.

As a result, the EU, in partnership with the European Youth Forum, held a drawing and writing contest for eight- to 24-year-olds.

“Peace, Europe, Future: What does peace in Europe mean to you?” was the question that was put to entrants from the EU and acceding or candidate countries.

Young people aged 13 to 24 were asked to submit their answers in a maximum of 120 characters, in any of the 23 official EU languages.

Mr Zahra’s entry reads: “My grandparents would have said ‘a dream’. My parents would have said ‘a process’. I say that it’s my everyday reality.”

He will join the three other winners selected by a jury for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

Together with the nine runners-up of the Facebook contest, the four winners will also be invited to Strasbourg for a special Nobel Prize event on December 12.