14 October 2010 Last updated at 00:31

In pictures: New world's shortest man

Khagendra Thapa Magar with his father (Photo by Tom van Cakenberghe)

Nepalese teenager Khagendra Thapa Magar is set to become the world's shortest man as he celebrates his 18th birthday. Mr Magar, who comes from a remote village in central Nepal, is just under 66cm (2ft 2ins) tall. (Photos by Tom van Cakenberghe/ words by Olivia Lang).

Khagendra Thapa Magar sits outside his parents' vegetable shop with his mother and a young woman and her one-year-old child (Photo by Tom van Cakenberghe)

Mr Magar, who takes the title from Colombia's Edward Nino Hernandez, is set to be confirmed by Guinness World Record officials at his home in Pokhara, a resort town 125 miles (200km) west of Kathmandu. Up until now he has been the shortest male teenager.

Dhana Maya helps her son, Khagendra Thapa Magar, change out of his clothes after school (Photo by Tom van Cakenberghe)

Mr Magar weighed only 600g (1lb 5oz) at birth. His mother, Dhana Maya, said he was so small that he could fit in the palm of her hand. “When he was older my husband used to carry him around in his pocket," she told the BBC.

Khagendra Thapa Magar and his brother Manesh peel mangoes in their house, Nepal (Photo by Tom van Cakenberghe)

Like most in rural Nepal, Mr Magar's family live a basic life and earn an income from selling vegetables. Here, his younger brother Manesh, 13, helps him peel mangoes in their two-roomed concrete house.

Khagendra Thapa Magar stands in his school uniform in preparation for his school-day (Photo by Tom van Cakenberghe)

Mr Magar's parents say he is active around the house, playing games and helping his mother as she cooks and keeps their house clean.

Khagendra Thapa Magar writes in class, helped by a school friend (Photo by Tom van Cakenberghe)

He attends the local school, but suffers from learning difficulties and studies alongside children aged only four and five years old.

Khagendra Thapa Magar outside his house in Nepal (Photo by Tom van Cakenberghe)

Mr Magar's family say their lives have changed since local media began to write about him. Since then he has become a local celebrity, being invited to meet the prime minister and becoming a tourism ambassador for the country.

Khagendra Thapa Magar is carried to school on his brother's back (Photo by Tom van Cakenberghe)

His parents say they do not know why Mr Magar has not grown taller, but say they hope that getting into the record books will help ensure he has a secure and bright future ahead of him.

South Asia

In pictures: New world's shortest man

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