Malcolm Brabant: Clinton can resolve this by authorising the FBI to release his DNA details

An American magazine, Star, says it is trying to establish whether the president is the father of a 13-year-old boy of mixed race from Little Rock, Arkansas.

The boy's mother is a black prostitute, Bobbie Anne Williams, who has alleged for some time that the president is the boy's father. She used to work the streets near the Governor's mansion in Little Rock at the time Mr Clinton was state governor.

She says her son boy is the product of a $300 sex session with him.

Presidential resemblance

He denies ever meeting the woman, although her son, called Danny Williams, is said to resemble Bill Clinton as a boy.

The White House says it doesn't comment on tabloid stories

The story was investigated by right-wing investigators in 1992, when Mr Clinton was running for the presidency. They say they believed the stories but were not able to substantiate them.

Now though DNA testing - which has already caused so much trouble for Mr Clinton with Monica Lewinsky's infamous semen stained dress - could finally prove whether or not he is the boy's father.

Star Magazine says it now trying to see whether Danny William's DNA has any link with the DNA polymarkers from Mr Clinton that were published in the Starr report.

No conclusive proof

Even so, DNA experts say that if there is a match, it would only be sufficient to say that there was an 85-95% certainty that Mr Clinton was the father. That is insufficient in American courts to conclusively prove paternity.

The White House is refusing to comment on the magazine story and says it does not do so on stories in the tabloids.

There is no indication when the results will be published but the story is another potential time-bomb for the Clinton presidency.

Some analysts believe the president could not survive being labelled what Americans call a "dead-beat Dad", a father who abandons his child, especially after recent initiatives aimed at clamping down on parents who avoid child support.