The release of a young Google executive has revitalised protesters in Cairo.

Tens of thousands defied the Egyptian regime’s attempts to end its crisis as they packed into a square in central Cairo for one of the biggest demonstrations to date calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Wael Ghonim, a 30-year-old marketing manager at Google, shot to prominence after he was detained for 12 days by security forces. He was released on Monday and shortly afterwards gave an emotional and tearful television interview which has struck a chord with the thousands of protesters demanding regime change.

He also admitted that he was the administrator of a Facebook page that was vital to mobilise the youth who have been the driving force behind the protests that have rocked the Arab world.

On Tuesday he took to a stage in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the demonstrations, espousing the energy and defiance the pro-democracy movement continues to display as the crisis enters its third week, with estimates that up to 300 people have been killed.

“I’m not a hero – but those who were martyred are the heroes,” he said, before breaking into the mantra of “Mubarak leave, leave”.

Protesters moved beyond the square and reportedly protested outside parliament for the first time. The huge demonstration took place hours after Omar Suleiman, the vice-president, said: “[A] clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realise the peaceful and organised transfer of power.”

But he gave no details of the plan, and the scale of demonstrations illustrated the level of distrust many harbour about the regime’s intentions and was a powerful show of strength by the pro-democracy activists.

The protesters have been insisting that Mr Mubarak step down immediately and they want widespread constitutional changes to pave the way for genuine democracy to the Arab world’s most populous state.

谷歌(Google)一名年轻主管的获释，令开罗的抗议者再次振作。

数万名示威者无视埃及政权试图终结危机的努力，涌入开罗市中心的一个广场，要求埃及总统胡斯尼?穆巴拉克(Hosni Mubarak)下台。这是迄今为止规模最大的抗议活动之一。

现年30岁的谷歌营销经理瓦伊尔?高尼姆(Wael Ghonim)在被安全机构关押了12天后，一跃成为世人瞩目的焦点。周一获释后，他旋即接受了一次电视采访。他在采访中情绪激动、眼泪夺眶而出，感染了成千上万要求政府下台的示威者。

高尼姆也承认，自己是一个Facebook页面的管理员，该网页在鼓动年轻人方面起到了至关重要的作用。年轻人是震撼了整个阿拉伯世界的近期抗议活动的生力军。

周二，高尼姆来到了示威活动的中心——开罗解放广场的一个讲台，对民主运动继续展现的高昂斗志和不屈不挠大加赞扬。随着危机进入第三周，到目前为止估计已有至多300人丧生。

高尼姆表示：“我不是英雄，真正的英雄是那些殉难者。”接着他喊出了“穆巴拉克下台！下台！”的口号。

示威者将抗议范围扩展至广场以外，据报道首次在议会外面抗议。这次大规模示威爆发几个小时前，副总统奥马尔?苏莱曼(Omar Suleiman)发表讲话称：“一份清楚的‘路线图’已制定完毕，包括一个实现和平、有序权力交接的明确时间表。”

但他并未透露该计划的具体细节，而示威活动的规模表明，许多人仍相当怀疑现政权的意图，而民主活动人士的能量相当大。

示威者一直坚决要求穆巴拉克立即下台，并要求大范围修宪，为阿拉伯世界人口最多的国家实现真正的民主政体铺平道路。