US First Lady Michelle Obama is believed to be pregnant and expecting her third child, a media report in Britain said today.

America is buzzing with hope that the 45-year-old wife of country’s first Black President Barack Obama will soon give birth to a “White House baby”, barely two weeks after his official inauguration, the ‘Daily Star’ reported.

Michelle and her 47-year-old husband already have two daughters - Malia (10), and Sasha (7). Internet bloggers and journalists have, in fact, started the speculation as long ago as November.

And, now Los Angeles’ celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has written: “This is completely unconfirmed and at this point just a rumour but… we’re hearing the talk in (Washington) DC is that Michelle Obama is pregnant. Could this be true? It’d be happy news! Hopefully it’s a boy!”

Though both Michelle and Barack have clearly stated in the past that they intended to have no more children, the White House has done nothing to quell the gossip, it said.

An insider was quoted as saying: “Anything can be done to hide these sorts of rumours, and Barack and Michelle would not have wanted anything to detract from the importance of the inauguration day. Their advisers will have been kept up to speed and it is very possible that there may be some announcement in the very near future.”