Australia's Kylie Minogue, seen here performing in 2006 after battling breast cancer, has been named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen. (Rick Rycroft/Associated Press)

Australian songbird Kylie Minogue joined the brother-and-sister team behind the James Bond films on the Queen's annual New Year's Honours List.

Minogue, back on tour after a two-year battle with breast cancer, said she felt both surprised and honoured, 20 years after her first UK hit, I Should Be So Lucky, reached number one in January of 1988.

"This last year I have felt so much love and support from everyone as I took greater steps back into the public domain, and it is with absolute gratitude and joy that I say farewell to 2007 and look forward to what the New Year will bring," said the 38-year-old pop singer from her family home in Melbourne, Australia.

Minogue, whose hits include Shocked, Better The Devil You Know and Can't Get You Out of My Head, has sold some 40 million albums worldwide.

The list, published Saturday, indicates honourees who will be given one of five Orders of the British Empire — the two highest levels confer the titles of dame or knight.

Others in the entertainment field on the list, who will be anointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), include Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, the siblings behind the James Bond film franchise, as well as stage and screen star Richard Griffiths — who starred in the British hit play The History Boys — and Tony award-winning actor Roy Dotrice.

Iain Smith, the producer behind movies such as The Fifth Element and Children of Men, will also become an OBE as well as veteran cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, 94, whose work includes 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Other performers whose designations were boosted include Shakespearean actor Sir Ian McKellen, also known as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, who was named a member of the Order of Companions of Honour and Julie Walters, who appeared in the Harry Potter films and Educating Rita.

Joining them in this exclusive club, which previously included only 65 members, is playwright and author Hanif Kureishi — best known for his 1990 novel The Buddha of Suburbia — and jazz pianist and composer Stan Tracey.

Recipients are nominated by government departments, individuals and private organizations and come from all walks of life. They are honoured for their contributions to health, education or the arts. Decisions are made by committees within the top levels of government.

The Order was established in 1917 by King George V, who wished to pay tribute to the thousands of people who served in non-combat roles during the First World War. It has since expanded to include those from the entertainment and sports worlds.

The honours will be handed out at an official ceremony in the spring of 2008.

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