Supermodel and television host Heidi Klum will be a new judge on the popular  TV talent show American's Got Talent.

Klum will be the fourth judge on the talent show created by British entertainment mogul Simon Cowell.

She joins comedian Howie Mandel, radio "shock jock" Howard Stern and former Spice Girl Mel B on the show hosted by Nick Cannon.
 
"Excited 2 join @HowardStern @howiemandel @OfficialMelB & @NickCannon on @nbcagt as new judge! Will be so fun," Klum tweeted.

Broadcaster NBC said Klum, 39, adds a discerning taste to the jury panel.

"As we look to develop an act that will get the world's attention, we and the contestants will benefit from Heidi's international sensibility and understanding of what works in today's global entertainment industry," NBC president of alternative programming, Paul Telegdy, said in a statement.

NBC said last month that Mel B would replace Sharon Osbourne, who quit the show after her son Jack was dropped from another reality show by the network.

German-born Klum was due to join the other judges for the nationwide auditions set to start this week in New Orleans. The show is open to singers, dancer, magicians and other performers with a top prize of US$1 million (NZ$1.2 million).

NBC is betting that Klum and Mel B will boost falling audiences for the show, which experienced record low numbers during the finale in September with less than 11 million viewers.

Klum is also the host on Bravo's fashion-design competition Project Runway as well as model competition Germany's Next Top Model in her native country.

Bravo is a division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corp.

- Reuters