Astronaut Zhai Zhigang has become the first Chinese man to walk in space.

Climbing out of the Shenzhou VII space craft , Mr Zhai said: "I'm feeling quite well. I greet the Chinese people and the people of the world."

Mr Zhai, the son of a snack-seller chosen for the first "extra-vehicular activity," unveiled a small Chinese flag, helped by colleague Liu Boming, who also briefly popped his head out of the capsule.

The 41-year-old then safely returned inside the craft after about 15 minutes.

The walk marked the highpoint of China's third manned space journey.

The Chinese-made suit worn by Mr Zhai, weighed in at 120kg (265lb) and cost £2.3 million.

Mr Liu wore a Russian-made suit and acted as a back-up.

The risky manoeuvre is a step towards China's longer-term goal of assembling a space lab and then a larger space station.

The fast-growing Asian power wants to be sure of a say in how space and its potential resources are used.

China's Communist Party leaders are also celebrating the latest space mission, hailing the country's achievements in a year in which Beijing has staged a successful Olympics and coped with a devastating earthquake in Sichuan.

"On this flight, Chinese people's footprints will be left in space for the first time," the official Xinhua news agency said.

"This will give the world yet something else to marvel about China in this extraordinary year of 2008."

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