BEAUTIFUL people in the region are invited today to enter a competition to find the Face of the Millennium.

The Northern Echo has joined forces with the Millennium Discotheque, at Stockton, to launch a contest to find the best looking man and woman in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

The lucky winners will receive a number of prizes, including a contract with a top North-East modelling agency.

This could open the door to fame and fortune, with the catwalks of London, Milan and New York, possibly beckoning for the winners.

All people have to do to if they want to be in with a chance of becoming the next Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer or model-turned actor Mark Wahlberg is to complete the entry form on this page and return it to The Northern Echo, along with a head and shoulders photograph of themselves.

The first 200 people who enter, 100 men and 100 women, will have their photographs published in The Northern Echo early next year, and it will then be up to the readers to vote for the pair who they think have the Face of the Millennium.

Telephone numbers will be printed alongside each face and the 100 men and women who receive the most votes will go through to a grand final at the Millennium Discotheque on Tuesday, January 16, 2001.

Kash Patel, the nightclub's sales and marketing manager, told The Northern Echo that the competition could lead to bigger and better things for the winners.

"This could be the first start towards a glamorous career in the world of modelling," he said.

"People who enter the competition don't have to be the next Naomi Campbell or Claudia Schiffer, but if they have that something special they could will find themselves on the catwalk in the future.

"Although we are expecting plenty of women to enter, it may be harder to get the men to join in, so we would encourage anyone to persuade their boyfriend, son, or friend to take part."

Judges representing event sponsors, Tyne Tees Models, Vauxhall CD Bramall, Saks Hair and Beauty, and Select-a-Phone will have the hard task of choosing the two winners, who must be 18-or-over.

Lesley Middlemiss, director of Tyne Tees Models, said: "Some models we represent have gone on to work in places such as America, Japan and Italy, and if they have the right look, they could go all the way to the top."