World's new tallest man wants a wife

The world has a new tallest man - and the 8ft 1in title holder is hoping that his new-found fame will help him find a wife.Sultan Kosen, a 27-year-old Turkish man who also revels in the largest hands (27.5cm) and feet (36.5cm) in the world - was unveiled at a Guinness World Records event in London.

The lovelorn giant said: 'The first thing I want to do is have a car that I can fit in, but more than that I want to get married.

'Up until now it's been really difficult to find a girlfriend. I've never had one, they were usually scared of me. I'm hoping now I will find one.'

Kosen's official recognition as the world's tallest means that the previous title holder, our hero Bao Xishun, has been dethroned - Kosen is over 10cm taller than him.

But Bao might be able to offer Kosen some useful tips on the dating front - when he wasn't saving dolphins or meeting other record holders, much of his four-year reign was spent seeking a wife. He eventually found love with a woman from his home village, got married, and had a child.

Kosen, who works occasionally as a farmer after medical difficulties ruled out a career in basketball, knows all about the difficulties of being tall - the specially-made suit he wore to meet journalists was one of the first outfits he has owned that is the right size.

He said: 'The most difficult things are, for example, that I can't fit into a normal car. When I get into a car, it's a really tight fit. I can't go shopping like normal people, I have to have things made specially and sometimes they aren't always as fashionable.'

On the plus side, however, he noted: 'The good thing about being so tall is that I can see people from a long distance. The other thing is at home they use my height to change the light bulbs and hang the curtains, things like that.'