Bruce Willis to pick Italy's most beautiful woman

Hollywood star Bruce Willis will help pick Italy's most beautiful woman when he heads the jury of the "Miss Italia" pageant later this month.

"Each year we look for a big name that is attractive to the public and pleasant for the girls," Marcello Cambi, spokesman for the national beauty contest, said Wednesday.

Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon and Gerard Depardieu have headed previous juries for the pageant, which takes place each year in the northern spa town of Salsomaggiore Terme.

"Miss Italia" will be chosen Sept. 19 by a combination of votes from the jury and the public, which follows the contest on national television.

A young Loren took part in the contest in 1950 but was judged too tall to represent Italian beauty and was awarded the specifically created title of Miss Elegance.