Mr Boahene wants little Silvio to become president of Italy or Ghana

A Ghanaian immigrant to Italy has named his son after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, despite his government's tough policy on immigration.

Anthony Boahene told an Italian newspaper: "I like the way Berlusconi talks, the way he moves."

Asked about Mr Berlusconi's tough stance on immigration, he said: "It's fine, laws need to be observed."

Mr Boahene said he would like his son Silvio to study politics and to become president of Ghana or Italy.

Mr Boahene, 36, came to Italy in 2002. His son was born in 2005 in Accra and has only recently joined his father in the northern Italian city of Modena.

There has been no word from Mr Berlusconi the elder about his young namesake, but his opponents are likely to take the view that one Silvio Berlusconi in Italy is more than enough, says the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Rome.