KATHMANDU: Khagendra Thapa Magar of Baglung district is not an ordinary teenager. At a height of 20 inches, the 17-year-old weighs just 10 pounds. In a matter four months, the Nepali is holding the country's name high by recording himself in the Guinness Book of World Records (GBWR) as the world's shortest man.

The GBWR officials are planning to register Khagendra in their immensely popular book in October, the online edition of the Sun reported on Wednesday. "They are planning to take the crown off the 29 inch tall Chinese He Ping Ping, the shortest man listed currently in the GBRW, in October and hand it to Khagendra," the Sun said. Khagendra will turn 18 on October 14.

The officials said they do not have a Shortest Boy category so Khagendra will have to wait for four months to become an adult. "We are expecting an official letter from the GBWR," said Min Bahadur Thapa, president of the Khagendra Thapa Magar Foundation. The foundation is campaigning in the Tarai region to collect funds for the boy these days.

Khagendra has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, which affects an estimated one out of every 25,000 births and occurs in all races. But it does not affect the sprit.

"He is just the same as other people. He eats like you, dreams like you," Mirror online reported. Khagendra, who has become something of a celebrity of late, said: "Once I am named the world's smallest man, I can fulfil my dream of visiting the United States of America."