UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has designated American filmmaker and actor George Clooney as a UN Messenger of Peace, the UN chief's spokeswoman said Friday.

Clooney will join eight other internationally renowned individuals as messengers to raise global awareness of the world body's ideals and activities, with a special focus on UN peacekeeping efforts, Michele Montas said.

"Recognized for focusing public attention on crucial international political and social issues, Mr. Clooney joins eight other United Nations Messengers of Peace who advocate on behalf of the organization," Montas said.

U.S. actor George Clooney holds the 2007 Peace Summit Award which he and fellow actor Don Cheadle received during a ceremony at the city hall in Rome in this Dec. 13, 2007. (file photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

Clooney will visit the UN headquarters on Jan. 31 to receive the designation and meet with officials from countries contributing to UN peacekeeping efforts.

Messengers of Peace are individuals who possess widely recognized talents in the fields of art, film, literature, music and sports, help raise worldwide awareness of the UN's ideals and activities, the spokeswoman said.

"Through their public appearances, contacts with the international media and humanitarian work, they expand public understanding of how the United Nations helps to improve the lives of billions of people everywhere," she said.

Current Messengers of Peace and their areas of focus are Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, for Millennium Development Goals and hunger; conductor Daniel Barenboim, for peace and tolerance; author Paulo Coelho, for intercultural dialogue; actor Michael Douglas, for disarmament and peace and security; primatologist Jane Goodall, for the environment; violinist Midori Goto, for Millennium Development Goals and youth; cellist Yo-Yo Ma, for youth; and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, for human rights and the Holocaust.

U.S. actor George Clooney (L) sits with his girlfriend Sarah Larson during the 2007 Peace Summit in Rome Dec. 13, 2007. (file photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2008)