Nelson Mandela is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his release from jail.

He marked the occasion by opening a museum in the remote village in Eastern Cape province where he was born in 1918.

Villagers in traditional Xhosa dress and cabinet ministers were among the crowd of 500 which welcomed the former president to Mvezo village.

"Coming here reminds me of my days a child," Mr Mandela said.

"I was born in this area where my father was a ruling chief."

The first part of the museum comprises the homestead where the statesman was born.

Other components are planned for nearby Qunu village, where Mr Mandela has built a retirement home, and the regional centre of Umtata.

"The anticipated flow of visitors and tourists will have economic spinoffs for the whole community," deputy Arts Minister Brigitte Mabandla told the gathering.

Eastern Cape province - and the Transkei region in particular - are among South Africa's poorest areas.

The new museum can only be reached over untarred roads.

Historic release

Nelson Mandela, then the world's best-known political prisoner, was already 71 when he walked free from Victor Verster prison near Cape Town on 11 February, 1990, after 27 years in apartheid jails.

But the last decade has been the busiest of Mr Mandela's life.

He negotiated the end to white minority rule, took over as South Africa's first black president, began dismantling the legacy of apartheid, and divorced and remarried.

Since handing over to Thabo Mbeki last June after five years as president, the 81-year-old has tried to use his influence to help the stumbling Middle East peace process and mediate between warring factions in Burundi.

Mr Mandela, widely credited with persuading blacks and whites to reconcile after decades of bitter division, plays down his contribution to South Africa's peaceful transition to democracy and jokes he is now an out-of-work pensioner.

He said: "Everything we have achieved in this decade has been the product of partnership.

"It is not an individual who is responsible for what has happened in this country."

The post-apartheid government is struggling to meet the basic needs of millions of South Africans.

But for many, the 10th anniversary is a chance to relive the heady days when Mr Mandela walked out of prison.