Leading Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou has been selected to perform the role of High Priestess at the Beijing Olympics flame lighting ceremony at Olympia next month.

Nafpliotou, who was unanimously chosen at a plenary session of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, is the tenth High Priestess in the history of the Olympic Flame and the ninth in the history of summer Olympic Games.

She comes to the role after many years in theatre where she has played major roles in the Greek National Theatre including Regan in Shakespeare's King Lear (2005-6) and Ifigenia in Euripedes' Ifigenia in Taurus at the ancient theatre of Epidavros (2006).

She has also made a number of films. In 2005, she got the best actress award in Cairo's International Film Festival for her role in Grigoris Karadinakis Chariton's Choir film.

Her next film was Giannis Oikonomides Psychi sto stoma in 2005, which gave her the supporting actress award in Thessaloniki's International Film Festival. Her last performance in the cinema was in 2006 in Nikos Panagiotopoulos' Die in Athens film.

The ceremony will be choreographed by Artemis Ignatiou who has worked extensively in the Greek theatre. She also choreographed the Olympic torch lighting ceremony for the Turin 2006 Winter Games.

The ceremony takes place on March 24.

The High Priestesses for the Lighting Ceremonies of Summer Olympic Games, since 1936 are:

Koula Pratsika - 1936

Maria Aggelakopoulou -1948

Xanthippi Picheon-Theologiti -1952

Aleka Katseli-Mazaraki - 1956, 1960, 1964

Maria Moscholiou - 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980

Katerina Didaskalou - 1984, 1988

Maria Pambouki - 1992, 1996

Thalia Prokopiou - 2000, 2004