A company claiming to have created the world's first cloned babies has distributed a photograph of one of the "clones" for the first time.



lonaid said a picture of an infant in an incubator published on its website showed the third of five babies supposedly cloned since December.



Many scientists have dismissed Clonaid's claim that any babies were ever cloned at all, pointing to the absence of DNA proof.



But the company, which is linked to a sect maintaining that humans were created by aliens, insists the picture shows "the third clone baby", allegedly born in Japan.



Its president, Brigitte Boisselier, handed out copies of the photograph on Monday on a visit to Brazil to promote the company.



Ms Boisselier, who is also a "bishop" of the Raelian sect, promised to present evidence in the next few days that the child was indeed cloned.



The baby's father, she said, would soon travel to Brazil to offer scientists proof that the baby's DNA was identical to that of a deceased sibling.



Accompanying Ms Boisselier is Raelian founder and leader Claude Vorilhon, known as Rael.



Clonaid says that five babies have been cloned and are all doing well:



+ Eve, the first, was allegedly born to US parents on Boxing Day

+ A second cloned baby girl is said to have been born to a Dutch lesbian on 3 January with a third, a boy, allegedly born in Japan later that month

+ A fourth "cloned baby" was born to Saudi Arabian parents on 27 January, Clonaid says, and a fifth on 4 February.