Will Smith joins Mandela's AIDS efforts

Film star Will Smith has joined antiapartheid icon Nelson Mandela's AIDS crusade to reach out to young people who are the most vulnerable and affected by the disease. Smith said he had first discussed the issue of becoming an AIDS ambassador for the Nelson Mandela Foundation with the 86-year-old former South African president four years ago. "I was saying to [Mandela], I am an actor, I make rap music, that's what I do, what can I do? And he said, you have to understand the power that you have and the hope that is created by what you do," Smith told a news conference with Mandela on Thursday. "Today the call has spoken to me, and I humbly, gratefully, and will aggressively respond." Mandela said Smith's image would play a critical role in educating youths in South Africa and elsewhere about AIDS. About five million people are infected with HIV in South Africa, making it one of the world's worst affected nations. AIDS activists say the disease kills about 600 people a day. (Reuters)