A YOUNG Tibetan nun in exile in the Himalayan foothills of North India is to visit North Yorkshire for the third time - to improve her English and computer skills.

For Thamchoe Dolkar, it will be a chance to renew friendships established during her previous visits with members of the congregation at Ripon Cathedral.

When Thamchoe and fellow Tibetan nun Ngawang Donsell completed their first visit in 2000, Ripon Cathedral hosted a farewell service to mark their departure.

Thamchoe, a Buddhist, will spend three months in Ripon.

After returning to North India two-and-a-half years ago, Thamchoe was elected to a senior post as secretary at the nunnery.

"As secretary, her newly-acquired skills in English and IT - and her experience of the wider world - became invaluable," said Patricia Whaling, a member of the cathedral congregation, who has helped arrange the visit.

A year ago, Thamchoe's sister escaped from Tibet on foot over the Himalayas, fleeing their country's occupation by China, taking her 12-year-old niece to be educated in a Tibetan school, in North India.

Meanwhile, Ngawang has also benefited from her six- month stay in Ripon. She has taken charge of the nunnery library, which now has six computers.

Her father died recently in Tibet, aged 58, but she was unable to go to him.

"It is a reminder of the costly choice they make in going into exile for the sake of their religion," says Mrs Whaling.

During Thamchoe's visit, the local community will get a chance to learn more about the situation in Tibet.