Fernando Lugo, the president of Paraguay, has has been ordered to undergo a paternity test to establish whether or not he fathered a second illegitimate child.

Reuters news service reports that Lugo, 59, has already admitted to fathering one child whilst he was still a bishop in the Catholic church. Since taking office in 2008 he has suffered politically from allegations that he has fathered additional children.

These claims may be substantiated or dismissed soon, as they will be put to a DNA test following the claim by Hortensia Moran that the Paraguayan president fathered her two year old son. If the paternity test establishes that Lugo is the father then the political fall-out could be severe as the boy would have been fathered either during his election campaign or even whilst in office.

When the Paraguayan courts ordered the president to undergo paternity testing, it was far from certain that he would comply with the order. Lugo is currently suffering from lymphatic cancer and though officials say he has good prospects of surviving the illness, the six chemotherapy sessions his doctors have ordered will likely leave him debilitated over the 18-week course.

Nevertheless this week Lugo's lawyer, Marcos Ferina, announced that the president is willing to do so. "I can't foresee any problems," Farina said to the country's Nanduti radio network, "The president's instruction is that this has to be done as soon as possible."

The date of the paternity test has been set for the 24th of August.