Cheney gives Bidens VP home tour

The Bidens will move into the Naval Observatory in January

US Vice-President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, have shown Vice-President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, round their mansion in Washington DC.

The couples greeted each other on the porch and posed for photographs before embarking on an hour-long tour.

The Naval Observatory will become the Bidens' official residence in January.

This will be Mr Biden's first home in the nation's capital, after decades of commuting to his US Senate job by train from Wilmington, Delaware.

The tour came just three days after President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle received a tour of the White House from President George W Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

The Cheneys and the Bidens exchanged warm greetings, according to media reports, and Mr Cheney offered his congratulations on last week's election win.

Mr Biden told reporters that he had previously been in some of the ground floor rooms of the vice-presidential mansion but that this was his first look at much of the property.

He has previously been an outspoken critic of Mr Cheney, calling him "the most dangerous vice-president we've had probably in American history".

A statement from Mr Cheney's office said the couple "enjoyed giving the Bidens a tour of the residence and wished them well as they make it their home in January".

Mr Biden's spokeswoman said: "The Bidens thank the Cheneys for welcoming them into their home and for their gracious hospitality."

Mr Biden has chosen former Vice-President Al Gore's chief of staff Ron Klain to fill the same job for him, the Democrats said on Thursday.

Mr Obama and his vice-president will take office on 20 January, 2009.