NONE French "Spiderman" Alain Robert was arrested today after successfully scaling the Petronas Towers, in his third attempt on the nation's tallest structure, police said.

The 46-year-old began climbing the 88-storey building before dawn and reached the top before being discovered by security officials, Kuala Lumpur police chief Muhammad Sabtu Osman told AFP .

"We have taken him back to the police station for questioning and checking his passport. He can be charged for criminal trespass," he said.

It took Robert, who started his climb at 6am, about two hours to get to the top of one of the two towers.

NONE Cladded in a black shirt and jeans, he used his bare hands to achieve the feat. On his pants was a '1Malaysia' logo.

Robert first tried to scale the building on March 20, 1997, and made a second unsuccessful attempt in 2007 after which he was freed without charge.

He has been nicknamed "Spiderman" for his high-profile escapades, which have included climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

NONE The 452-metre Petronas Twin Towers, which were completed in 1998, were for several years the world's tallest buildings until being upstaged by Taipei 101 among others.

After he was arrested during his second attempt two years ago, Robert had vowed to stay away from the Twin Towers.

"I have no reason to try again. I did it twice and reached 60 stories each time.

"Unless one day I can get approval and I can get to the top, there's no point," he was quoted as saying.

He did not get approval to scale the building today, but it did not stop him from doing it.

- AFP