Los Angeles, Apr 22 (IANS): Singer-actress Selena Gomez has been appointed ambassador of "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest's charity foundation.

Seacrest announced the news on his Los Angeles radio show. He revealed that Gomez will join him in highlighting the plight of seriously ill and injured children, reports contactmusic.com.

Gomez made a special appearance last year at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, joining Seacrest as he hosted the first broadcast from the hospital's multimedia centre, which had been installed by the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.

As the ambassador, she will continue her work with the foundation in an official capacity, visiting new locations and providing inspiration to sick children.

"The Ryan Seacrest Foundation does such incredible work and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. I'm particularly excited about helping to launch a media centre in my hometown of Dallas at the Children's Medical Center and giving back to the kids there," said Gomez.

Seacrest is happy with Gomez's association.

"From the beginning, I could tell that Selena really understood our mission. I'm so grateful that she's decided to take on this larger role with us, joining our efforts to bring hope and spirit to seriously ill and injured kids," he said.

"With her as ambassador, we will continue to expand our programmes at children's hospitals throughout the country (America)," added Seacrest.