'French Spiderman' scales Chinese mountain

BEIJING: French climber Alain Robert, deported from China this summer after illegally conquering its tallest building, has staged a comeback, scaling a mountain fully legitimately, state media said Monday.   

Robert, dubbed the 'French Spiderman', used 40 minutes to climb 200 meters (656 feet) up the side of a cliff on Tianmen Mountain in central China without the aid of mountaineering equipment, the China Central Television website reported.   

The 45-year-old stuntman was invited by the operator of the scenic spot in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, to star in a promotional event.   

Robert was kicked out of China in June after illegally climbing the country's tallest building, the 430-metre Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, without ropes or safety equipment.   

After his arrest, he was banned from the country for five years but Chinese authorities decided to allow him back for the sake of boosting local tourism, Xinhua news agency said earlier.   

The high-profile "urban climber" has been tackling the world's tallest buildings -- often illegally -- since 1994, according to his website.   

He was arrested during an attempt to scale Malaysia's 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers in March this year after reaching the 60th floor.