Hosted by Angarsk in Siberias Irkutsk Region, his marathon has been arranged to closely follow Guinness international project rules, complete with a monitoring team and two video cameras.

Temur had been playing non-stop for thirteen hours by 10 p.m., local time-5 p.m., Moscow time, says Elena Badyuk, marathon organiser.

"He looks quite cheerful and full of stamina, and there

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s inspiration in his music," she remarked to Novosti.

Though the rules envisage a five-minute break after every hour, the daring musician has taken only few. He is determined to play for twenty-five hours or even longer, if he can, to beat the previous Guinness Book record. It belongs to an Indian performer whose non-stop endeavour lasted twenty-four hours and a half.

Georgian national resident in Moscow, Temur was born in Tbilisi. He took up the guitar when a child of eleven. Last years international contest in Los Angeles named him the worlds best guitarist.

IRKUTSK, December 2 (RIA Novostis Alexander Batalin)