The 61-year-old will perform a new power ballad entitled "Believe In Me" and will be hoping to restore Britain's fortunes in the annual televised pop music extravaganza.

Britain has won the competition only once since 1981 and several of its entries have finished on or near the bottom of the scoreboard in recent years.

"I am truly honoured and delighted to be able to represent my country at Eurovision and especially with such a fabulous song. I promise to give this everything that I've got for the UK," Tyler said.

The Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast across Europe but also in dozens of other countries, takes place this year in the southwestern Swedish city of Malmo on May 18.

Tyler's hits include "It's A Heartache" (1977), "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" (1983), and "Holding Out For A Hero" (1984), the last time she broke into the British top 10.

She will be hoping to improve on last year's Eurovision performance by another British veteran, Engelbert Humperdinck, who scraped into last-but-one place.

As Britain is one of the 'Big Five' financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union, their entry qualifies automatically for the finals.

Like Humperdinck, Tyler was chosen internally at the BBC.