As we get closer and closer to the release of the new Tomb Raider game, subtitled as Tomb Raider: Underworld, Eidos - publishers of the money-spinning Tomb Raider franchise - starting with the appointment of a new Lara Croft model.

Alison Carroll, an elite gymnast who has previously represented Britain, has been chosen as the brand new face and body of the franchise. The 23-year-old managed to beat out hundreds of other applicants to take on the role of sexiest leading lady in the virtual world, with the final round of the auditions involving a naked mud wrestling competition.

And it seems there was already a bit of Lara in Alison, even before she was formally offered the job. The stunner revealed she got locked in her flat the day she was meant to meet producers and had to escape out of the window to get to the meeting.

Alison is set to follow in the glamorous footsteps of models Nell McAndrew and Lucy Clarkson who both shot to fame playing the sexy archaeologist. The role was previously played by ex-Top Shop worker Karima Adebe.

Tomb Raider games are a phenomenon across the world and have sold more than 32 million copies since the first was released in 1996. The next game in the Tomb Raider franchise, Underworld, is due out on November 21st, 2008.