Father of Palin grandchild to pose nude

Levi Johnston is going for the ultimate exposure - the 19-year-old father of Sarah Palin's grandchild will pose nude for Playgirl, his lawyer said.

To get ready for his close-up, Mr Johnston is training three hours a day, six nights a week at an Anchorage gym with a local body builder.

A formal agreement hasn't been reached with the online magazine, but the photo shoot is a "foregone conclusion," said Mr Johnston's lawyer, Rex Butler.

Mr Johnston fathered a son with Bristol, the 18-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate who resigned as Alaska's governor in July.

Publication of the photographs could be a source of embarrassment for Mrs Palin, often mentioned as a possible 2012 presidential candidate.

Her memoir, Going Rogue, will be published next month and pre-sales already have made it a national best seller.

Just after Senator John McCain chose Mrs Palin as his running mate in August 2008, Mr Johnston was thrust into the national spotlight when Mrs Palin abruptly announced her unwed daughter was pregnant and the couple would marry.

The couple broke up after the birth of their son, Tripp, in December. The relationship between the Palins and Mr Johnston since then has often been strained, mostly over visitation issues.

Mrs Palin's representatives did not respond to a request for comment on the Playgirl job.