President Obama will appear shirtless on the front cover of a US magazine.

Obama will be seen semi-nude in a bathing suit on the cover of May issue of The Washingtonian magazine.

The monthly style/culture publication uses a paparazzi photograph taken during the president-elect’s Christmas vacation in Hawaii last year.

The magazine claims Obama is no normal president who’s ‘really hot’, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Garrett Graff, editor-at-large at the publication, revealed ABC News that the idea for the cover came during a discussion among the magazine’s staff about how, with the arrival of the Obamas, came a “celebrity aspect that has brought energy to the city and the attention of the paparazzi.”

“The Obamas are the centre of attention here and the whole world is looking to Washington now in a way we haven’t seen in years,” Graff said, calling it “a real golden age of Washington.”

He said they were trying to “capture the energy and excitement” over the Obamas in Washington and “have a little fun.”

“It’s a unique time in Washington and this photo helps capture all of the reasons why,” Graff said.

“It’s not a normal way to look at a president of the United States but this is not a normal president,” Graff added.

Graff said the magazine used the photo to illustrate two things: first, the president himself is hot – “you have a buff president and the paparazzi like taking shirtless photos of him,” Graff said – and second, the Obamas’ presence in Washington is ‘really hot’.