Timberlake named Hasty Pudding Man of the Year

The award is given to entertainers who have made a "lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment".

Justin Timberlake has been named Harvard's Hasty Pudding Man of the Year.

The 28-year-old has been chosen to receive the annual honour by Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals - America's oldest undergraduate drama club - and will be given the prize during a dinner on February 5 at the prestigious Massachusetts college.

The award is given to entertainers who have made a "lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment".

In a statement, a spokesperson for the club said: "Justin was chosen for being one of pop culture's most influential entertainers."

Justin - who manned phone lines during last Friday's Hope for Haiti Now TV telethon (22.01.10) - will also appear in upcoming film, 'The Social Network', which is set at Harvard and tells the story of the founding of website Facebook.

The female recipient of this year's Hasty Pudding prize is Anne Hathaway.

Past recipients of Hasty Pudding's Woman of the Year award include Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Dame Elizabeth Taylor and Charlize Theron.

Men to be given the male honour include Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Bruce Willis and Christopher Walken.