TBILISI, Georgia - A grenade hurled in a crowd during last week's speech by President Bush in the Georgian capital was live and considered a threat against the president, though it failed to explode because of a malfunction, the FBI said Wednesday.

In Washington, the White House spokesman said Secret Service agents in Georgia were examining whether security changes were needed, noting that some people at Freedom Square were seen getting around metal detectors at Bush's May 10 speech.

Initially Georgian officials said the Soviet-era grenade was found on the ground, was inactive and posed no danger to Bush.

But FBI agent Bryan Paarmann said Wednesday that the grenade, wrapped in a dark handkerchief, fell about 100 feet from the podium where Bush was speaking and "simply failed to function."