Thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated in the capital Manama on Tuesday demanding regime change in the Gulf kingdom after two protesters were killed in clashes with police.
Washington expressed concern at the killings and urged all sides to exercise restraint in a country that saw deadly unrest in the 1990s between the majority Shiite population and the Sunni ruling family.
Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone meanwhile voiced disquiet about next month's Bahrain Grand Prix, which opens the new Formula One season.
"This is your only and last chance to change the regime," read a banner carried by protesters who descended on Manama's Pearl Roundabout, shortly after the funeral of one of the two Shiite demonstrators.
Cyber activists outraged by the killing of the two protesters had called for the Manama demonstration on Facebook.
The banners and slogans of the Bahraini protesters echoed those of the demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square whose 18 straight days of protest triggered the dramatic end on Friday of Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
Some protesters erected a tent, saying their sit-in would continue until their demands were met.
MPs from Bahrain's main Shiite opposition bloc walked out of parliament.
Demonstrators want a "contractual constitution and a peaceful transfer of power," said MP Mohammed Mezaal, of the Shiite opposition Islamic National Accord Association, whose 18 MPs walked out of the 40-member parliament.
The decision came because of "the deterioration in security and the negative and brutal way in which (authorities) dealt with the protesters, killing two of them," said another of the bloc's MPs, Khalil al-Marzooq.
Fadel Salman Matrouk was shot dead in front of a hospital on Tuesday where mourners had gathered for the funeral of Ali Msheymah, who died of his wounds after police dispersed a protest in a village east of Manama on Monday, Marzooq said.
He described both men as "martyrs."
Earlier, King Hamad, addressed the nation expressing sorrow for the deaths and announcing a ministerial investigation.
He said he would continue the reform process that saw the restoration in 2002 of the parliament dissolved in 1975. The Shiite opposition has long complained that the elected chamber's legislative authority is shared with an appointed upper house.
"Reform is going ahead. It will not stop," the king said.
The interior ministry said "some of the people participating in the funeral on Tuesday clashed with forces from a security patrol," leading to Matrouk's death.
It also said a protester had died of his injuries late on Monday and said it had opened an inquiry into whether police resorted to "unjustified use of arms" in Diya village.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay was in no doubt the security forces had gone too far.
"I urge the authorities to immediately cease the use of disproportionate force against peaceful protesters and to release all peaceful demonstrators who have been arrested," she said.
US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley expressed concern at the recent violence.
But he welcomed Bahraini promises to investigate the deaths and "take legal action against any unjustified use of force by Bahraini security forces," he said in a statement.
"We also call on all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from violence," Crowley said.
Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa director Malcolm Smart condemned the killings and called on the authorities to listen to the calls for change.
The Formula One chief Ecclestone told London's Daily Telegraph newspaper that it was too early to consider calling off next month's Bahrain Grand Prix but said he planned to contact Crown Prince Salman about the risk of protests.
"The danger is obvious, isn't it?" Ecclestone told the paper's online edition.
"If these people wanted to make a fuss and get worldwide recognition it would be bloody easy, wouldn't it?"
Washington, which uses Bahrain as home base for its Fifth Fleet, said it was urging its allies in the Middle East to open up to their peoples' demands.
"We have sent a strong message to our allies in the region saying let's look at Egypt's example, as opposed to Iran's example," President Barack Obama said Tuesday.
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