Hollywood darlings Gwyneth Paltrow and Halle Berry will join famed director Martin Scorsese in the line-up of presenters at this year's Academy Awards, organisers said Tuesday. Previous Oscar winners Paltrow, Berry and Scorsese, one of this year's best director nominees, have all signed on to hand out golden statuettes at the February 27 ceremony in Hollywood, producers said.

Paltrow won the best actress Oscar for her role in the 1998 film "Shakespeare in Love" and starred in last year's futuristic feature "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." She is also known for her turns in films including "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Emma," "Sylvia," in which she played poet Sylvia Plath and 2001's "The Royal Tenenbaums."

Berry became the first black woman to take home the best actress Oscar at the 2002 ceremony for her role as the wife of a death row prisoner in "Monster's Ball." Her other film credits include her role as a Bond girl in the British spy thriller "Die Another Day," and turns in "Swordfish," "X-Men," "Bulworth," "Losing Isaiah," "The Flintstones."

Scorsese is nominated as best director this year for his biopic "The Aviator," the life story of eccentric US billionaire Howard Hughes. The Oscars nod marked Scorsese's seventh, including five for best director.

But while he is one of Hollywood's best known and most respected filmmakers, Scorsese has never won one of cinema's highest honours and is one of the favourites to win this year, along with Clint Eastwood, who won a nomination for "Million Dollar Baby."

Scorsese's movies include "Good Fellas," (1990) "The Color of Money," "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver."

Scorsese, Berry and Paltrow join fellow presenters at this year's show, including actress Salma Hayek and former Academy Award winner Tim Robbins.

Also handing out the "golden guys" at the 77th annual Academy Awards will be last year's best actress Oscar winner, South African star Charlize Theron and the 2003 winner, Renee Zellweger.

Also signed on to hand out come of cinema's highest honours is "Lord of the Rings" star Orlando Bloom.

Nominations for this year's Academy Awards were announced last week, with "The Aviator" leading the pack with 11 nominations including best picture, best director and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio.

The 110-million-dollar film tells the story of eccentric US billionaire, flyer and moviemaker Howard Hughes.

Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" and "Finding Neverland," the story of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, were next in the ranking with seven nominations each including best picture.

The 2005 Oscars will be held in Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on February 27.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005