Westlife were yesterday announced on the shortlist for the 'Best Pop' category at this year's Brit Awards.

They face competition from Avril Lavigne, Girls Aloud, McFly and Natasha Bedingfield, in a public vote that opens next Tuesday (Jan 18th).

We'll keep you up to date with voting details - the category is being promoted by CDUK, The Sun's Bizarre column, O2 and Samsung mobile, so there may be quite a few ways to register your vote!

More details can be found at www.brits.co.uk.

The band have 2 Brit Awards in their cabinet already, from similar nominations in previous years - what's different in 2005 is that the 'Best Pop' category is no longer split into UK and International sections, but puts everyone together...