Putin's mistress denies giving birth to lovechild

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's alleged mistress has denied giving birth to their love - child, saying that the baby is actually her nephew.

"My sweet little nephew Arsenio has joined my ever-extending family in Moscow. Everyone, of course, thinks that he is my son (laughs)," Alina Kabayeva, a former Olympics rhythmic gymnast, was quoted by the New Tork Post as saying.

Without referring to Putin, the 27-year-old Uzbekistan -born beauty has dropped hints about her love of powerful men. "There are men that are afraid of strong women. Of course I know men that will always be stronger and higher in power then me," she was quoted by the US newspaper as telling the Russian Vogue magazine.

Kabayeva will grace the January cover of the magazine, which will be the first for its new editor, Viktoria Davydova, who took over Russian Vogue in July.

Putin is still married to flight attendant Lyudmila Shkrebneva, and they have two daughters. Putin and Kabayeva were linked in 2008 by a Russian newspaper owned by billionaire Alexander Lebedev. Putin denied a relationship, saying, "there is not a single word of truth" in the story, and the paper was later shut down.

In 2008, Kabayeva gave birth to a boy rumored to be Putin's, although she has never identified the father. A source was quoted as saying, "The elite of Russia believe that the story was given to Vogue to try to squash the rumors, since everyone is positive that once President Dimitry Medvedev's term is finished in 2012, Putin will run again for his old office."