Produced by M-Net and sponsored by Nokia, the competition is seen as the most prestigious model talent search on the continent with a 3-year model contract from Storm Model Management as the main prize.

Chiposwa's good news came at the end of a day-long casting session at the Holiday Inn hotel in Lusaka where hopeful models lined up for their chance to see casting judges Andiswa Manxiwa and Vicky Cursham.

But it was Chiposwa who won the judges approval and secured her place in the next round of competition. She will now jet off to Botswana and South Africa in June to participate in two special Nokia Face of Africa "model bootcamp" selection sessions where she will join 17 other semi-finalists competing for a place as a Top Ten finalist.

These Top Ten finalists will then take to the catwalk at Sun City on August 13 where the winner will be announced.

In choosing Chiposwa as a semi-finalist, both judges echoed their long-running sentiment that success in this competition is a combination of the right attitude, a striking look and a real desire to be a model.

"We are looking for young women who meet the entry requirements. But more than that, we are searching for semi-finalists who are confident and dynamic with an instinct for style, a sense of adventure and a true love of fashion."

For Chiposwa, the day won't be easily forgotten! After being selected as a semi-finalist, she spent the day with the scouting team's cameraman and photographer completing a television and photographic shoot.

M-Net audiences can share in Chiposwa's excitement and see more of the model when the channel screens three programs in July which are dedicated to the search for NOKIA FACE OF AFRICA 2006. There will also be regular updates on the project on M-Net's African lifestyle program Studio 53.

The second semi-finalist announced for the Nokia Face of Africa 2006, Chiposwa won't be the last with castings still scheduled for Accra, Addis, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Lagos, Luanda, Nairobi and Windhoek.

This year's revised competition format means that any young woman from sub-Saharan Africa, who is a citizen of a country in sub-Saharan Africa, and who meets the entry requirements can participate in a casting in any of the 12 casting cities, irrespective of whether she resides in the casting city or not.

Entry requirements state that entrants must be between the ages of 16 and 24 (as at August 2006), must be at least 1.74m tall and must have a maximum hip measurement of 36 inches.