The UN has named Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan a goodwill ambassador focusing on HIV/Aids.

Rai Bachchan's appointment was announced Monday by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/Aids, known as UNAIDS.

The 38-year-old L'Oreal spokeswoman and former Miss World said that the appointment is a ''turning point'' in her life.

She says she'll be more than a poster girl for a UNAIDS initiative, launched last year. The initiative aims to prevent the spread of HIV to babies and keep infected mothers alive in 22 countries, including India.

She says as a new mother, she can relate to ''the joys and concerns of every mother and the hope that we have for our children.''

Rai Bachchan and her husband, Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan, had their first child last year.