German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has won the latest stage of a legal battle to prevent further rumours of marital problems being published.

A Berlin judge ruled that a reporter who wrote a story about alleged problems went into Mr Schroeder's "private sphere" and said there was "no public interest in the spreading of rumours".

The journalist, Gunther Hartwig, had challenged a temporary gagging order imposed last month to stop him repeating the offending article.

But Mr Hartwig's argument was rejected by the court.

His article, about Mr Schroeder's marriage to his fourth wife, Doris, was printed in an east German paper in December.

More challenges

At the start of the court hearing, Mr Schroeder's lawyers withdrew their case against the paper itself on a technicality. They said they had incorrectly filed papers calling for an injunction against the publishers of the newspaper, the Maerkische Oder-Zeitung.

However, Michael Nesselhauf, acting for the chancellor, pressed ahead with the injunction against Mr Hartwig - in effect killing off repetitions of the story.

Judge Michael Mauck, who is considered by observers to be very experienced in handling media cases, made it clear he disapproved of gossip journalism.

He said such allegations could bring a man down.

Despite Tuesday's outcome, Mr Schroeder may yet launch another legal challenge to Mr Hartwig's report.

The Berlin ruling dealt only with the invasion of privacy - and not with the truthfulness of the allegations.

A lawyer for the Maerkische Oder-Zeitung has indicated that if the truth of the article is challenged, he is prepared to call Mr Schroeder's bodyguards and his wife to the witness stand.

This was the second legal battle between Mr Schroeder and the media in less than a week over what the German chancellor describes as unnecessary intrusions into his private life.

In the other, Mr Schroeder unsuccessfully tried to stop the UK's Mail on Sunday from publishing separate allegations about the couple's marriage.

An injunction was granted in that case too, but on Monday the court in Hamburg confirmed that it could not stop a UK newspaper publishing.

Election battles

The cases come at a sensitive time for the chancellor, who faces two key state elections at the beginning of next month.

Unemployment in Germany is up and the economy is ailing.

Mr Schroeder has been tumbling in the public opinion polls.

But critics say his attempts to stop newspapers publishing stories about his private life are costing him more support than the claims themselves.

His run-ins with the media started last year, when he took legal action over claims that he dyed his hair.