He says he is as shocked as anyone that his YouTube clip I Like Guns has been viewed more than 1.26 million times in the six weeks it has been online.

The paean to guns, produced by Bill Chambers - father of Kasey - features Lee shooting at everything from watermelons to cars, and with everything from muzzleloaders to a fully automatic M60 and a rocket-propelled grenade.

Some of the guns are so dangerous that they are banned in Australia, meaning Mr Lee had to travel to Cambodia to film much of the clip.

Mr Lee, who usually performs with his wife and four children, was inspired to write the song many years ago because of negative media coverage of guns.

"When you watch movies firearms are portrayed as a bad thing … I wanted to show that they can be used for fun and sport and not violence.''

He had never posted a song online before and did not know just how popular his song would be.

"It's not every day you hear a story like this," he said. "[Posting clips on YouTube] is all new to me … I didn't think it would do that well.''

The song, which features lines such as ''[God] gave me this voice so I can be a singer, so you tell me why I've got a trigger finger'', has been particularly successful in the US, where the debate over gun control rages on.

He has been interviewed by US media, including a journalist from the National Rifle Association, and the song is No. 1 on the chart of the online music distributor CD Baby.

Mr Lee said that while he was happy about his overseas success, he would not like the issue of gun control in Australia to go the way of the US debate.

"You have got to abide by the law, and there are some people out there who shouldn't be able to use guns. [But] I like guns, and I use guns in the bush".

The President of Gun Control Australia, John Crook, said the song was irresponsible for portraying guns as fun and non-violent. "Guns are designed to kill. The gun control laws we have in Australia have only been obtained after thousands of people have been killed.''