Bao Xishun, the world's tallest man, has announced he will become the world's tallest father after getting his 5ft 5in wife pregnant.

7ft 9in Bao married his normal sized wife Xia Shujuan last year and while they insist they are equal partners in marriage she only reaches her husband's elbow.

They are now said expecting their first child and Bao, a herdsman from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, said he would like his son or daughter to be tall enough to play basketball.

He could also be given a second place in the Guinness World Record book - and it was easier and more enjoyable than holding ten live rattlesnakes in his mouth for longer than ten seconds.

Bao says the marriage is going well, he has obviously learnt how to fain laughter each morning when his wife asks 'what's the weather like up there?'
The news has prompted many people to question the practicalities of the conception and wonder what the Karma Sutra would look like if the characters had a similar disparity in height as Bao and his wife.

Last year Bao lost his title as the world's tallest living man to Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk who measured a whopping 8ft 5.5 inches. But amendments to the rules would saw him given the title back for the Guinness World Records book 2009.

All contenders to the title must now be measured in person by an official Guinness World Records adjudicator, something Stadnyk did not allow, possibly because he is really three children on each others shoulders wearing a long coat.