Doujon Zammit, a 20-year-old Australian of Maltese and Italian descent, was yesterday declared brain dead after being bashed into a coma on the Greek island of Mykonos.

Mr Zammit, who was accompanied by his cousin Cameron Tabone, also 20, is reported to have been beaten by up to four bouncers from a club on the Greek island.

One Greek man has been charged with grievous bodily harm and possession of an illegal weapon after allegedly beating Mr Zammit with a metal baton, according to police officers.

Mr Zammit is understood to have suffered extensive bleeding in the brain. Hospital staff in Athens waited for family members to arrive while he was kept on life support machines.

A third, unnamed Australian who was with the two victims escaped unscathed, the Australian media said.

"The doctors have said he is brain dead," the victim's father, Oliver Zammit, told reporters outside an Athens hospital.

Some tributes on a Facebook group page titled "Doujon Zammit - Only the good die young", praised him as the "vibrant school captain of Cecil Hill High School" and a young leader who enjoyed the respect of his peers.

The group garnered more than 1,000 members in a few hours and many shared recollections and expressed condolences to Mr Zammit's family.

The Australian media reported that this was the first overseas trip for Mr Zammit. He had been saving for two years for his dream European holiday, which included a visit to Malta in July.

(Additional reporting by Reuters)