LONDON, JIS:

Thirty-year-old Kim-Marie Spence has been selected to represent Jamaica in the team of eight women from countries across the Commonwealth who will participate in the Women's Antarctic Expedition.

Representing five continents, six faiths and seven languages, the team of diverse women, some of whom have never seen snow before, will come together to tackle the immense mental and physical challenges of Antarctica.

The voyage, which is to celebrate the 60th anni-versary of the Common-wealth, will entail the women skiing more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the icy wastes of Antarctica to reach the South Pole on New Year's Day 2010.

During the 30-40-day journey, the women will sleep in tents on the ice in temperatures below 30C, pulling sledges full of food, fuel and equipment weighing 80 kilograms, battling through vicious snow-storms and avoiding treacherous crevasses hidden beneath the snow surface.

training

Ms Spence, who was the 2001 Rhodes Scholar, along with another Jamaican, Alecia Maragh, participated in a two-week training camp and mini-expedition in Norway last month, where the final selections were made.

During the training, the Jamaicans, along with women from Cyprus, Ghana, India, Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, learnt how to ski, camp in winter conditions, and to work and live together as a team. The team will be led by Felicity Aston from the United Kingdom.

The eight women selected are continuing their training on the Hardangervidda in Norway. They are expected to participate in Commonwealth Day events on Monday, March 9.

The Commonwealth Women's Antarctic Expedition aims to demonstrate the potential of greater intercultural understanding and exchange, while at the same time highlighting the achievements of women across the world.