MUMBAI: Malayalam television network Asianet's Programming vice president R Sreekandan Nair has been selected as a juror in the semi-finals judging for the 2005 International Emmy Awards. Nair will be judging the category of arts programming.

According to an official release from Asianet Communications, this is for the first time that a Malayalam television executive has been chosen to be a part of the prestigious international awards which is regarded as the Oscars for the television industry.

The awards, instituted by the New York-based the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, honour the best television programs produced, and initially aired, outside the U.S. The semi-final judging for arts programming will be held in Hong Kong on 12 August. Chinese broadcaster Phoenix TV is organising the event this year in Hong Kong.

The 2005 Emmy nominations will be officially announced at MIPCOM in early October this year. Being an Emmy juror, Nair will be listed in the yearly Almanac publication which is distributed at major media markets, festivals and semi-final judging centres throughout the world, says the official intimation Nair received from the academy.

In Asianet, Nair also anchors the weekly chat show Nammal Thammal.