Beijing: 

Tall order: Bao Xishun, who is 7'9" tall, with his son

The world's tallest man has become the world's tallest father.

Bao Xishun (57), a 7'9" herdsman of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China, had his first baby after a year of marriage to 5'6" Xia Shujuan (29).

Their son weighed 9lbs 4oz at birth was 1'10" long.

Although slightly taller than average for newborn children, Bao's boy came up well short of the 29.5 inches record birth length last year, also in China.

"Bao is quite happy. The baby is healthy and a normal size," said doctor Zhang.

"I hope he or she can be about two metres tall," Bao had said last year about his wishes for a child. "Then he or she can play basketball."