Charlize Theron to co-host World Cup soccer draw

South African actress Charlize Theron has landed the leading lady's role in Friday's draw for next year's soccer World Cup finals in her home country, the international soccer body FIFA announced on Tuesday.

Theron, who won a best actress Oscar for playing a serial killer in the 2003 movie "Monster", will be joint host of the 90-minute show to be televised live to an estimated global audience of more than two hundred million people in 200 countries.

She will join FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke to host the procedure of placing the 32 national finalists into eight groups of four teams for the 2010 tournament which runs from June 11 to July 11.

The show will include an African musical spectacular, including gospel and jazz.

A host of sporting celebrities will also take part in the draw including Ethiopia's Olympic champion runner Haile Gebrselassie, England midfielder David Beckham, South African soccer player Matthew Booth and cricketer Makhaya Ntini and the host country's rugby World Cup captain John Smit.

South African president Jacob Zuma will be in the audience along with Nobel Peace prize winners Frederik de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.