PARIS, June 20, 2008 (AFP) - British supermodel Naomi Campbell, sentenced to community service in London on Friday June 20th for assaulting police at Heathrow airport, is to be the new face of Yves Saint Laurent.

Naomi Campbell - Photo : AFP

In a statement issued shortly before the sentencing, the French fashion house said Campbell, 38, would front its autumn-winter 2008-2009 advertising campaign.

Photos for the campaign, headed by YSL designer Stefano Pilati, were taken in March this year, the fashion house said.

YSL's decision to contract the model comes as Italian Vogue takes a stand against racial discrimination in the fashion world by releasing a July issue using only black models.

Once highly-paid black supermodels such as Campbell, Iman, Alek Wek and Mounia have all but disappeared from the catwalks, as models from eastern Europe increasingly bag the big contracts.

There was no immediate comment from YSL, however, on the reasons for signing up Campbell.

Campbell was sentenced to 200 hours community service after admitting assaulting two police officers during a row over lost luggage in a British Airways flight that was about to depart London's Heathrow airport.

Magistrates spared her jail after she pleaded guilty to three assault charges and three other counts in connection with the incident on the Los Angeles-bound flight in April.