HEAVING bosom, check. Long, toned limbs encased in second-skin micro brown shorts, check again.

Meet the latest incarnation of Lara Croft. The new face of the sexy fictional adventurer from the Tomb Raider game series is 23-year-old Alison Carroll, from Croydon, England.

Despite her awesome assets and tighter-than-tight outfit, Carroll had no qualms high-kicking, back-flipping and somersaulting in front of a largely male audience yesterday afternoon at the Marina Square atrium.

Her energetic appearance was part of the X08, the three-day event which opened yesterday. The event, the largest showcase of new Xbox 360 games in the region with over 30 Xbox 360 titles, include the latest and eighth of the series, Tomb Raider: Underworld.

The fact that the blue-eyed brunette is so at ease in front of audiences shouldn't come as a surprise. The former professional gymnast who trained for over 12 years has represented her country and was cool even under the hot-blooded scrutiny of numerous men.

This is after all, the same sportswoman who performed at a special sports event in front of Prince Charles at the Westminster Abbey. She displays a steely determination when it comes to maintaining her trim figure.

One of the first things the fitness fanatic, who works out six times a week, did upon landing here on Thursday evening was to take a run around the city.

Said Carroll with a grin: "It's my first time here in Singapore, it's very hot. As soon as I went outside it was like ooh.."

She also had to undergo Special Air Services training (the British Army's elite unit) to prepare for her new role.

Even before clinching the role of Croft in August this year, she told The New Paper that she relished rugged sports like rock climbing, mountain biking and abseiling.

Unlike previous Lara Croft faces, such as actress and model Karima Adebibe, she is the first with a gymnastic background.

Her sporting side was probably what gave her the edge in beating hundreds of other aspirants who vied for the role.

She said: "My athletic side definitely fits in with the role, so I hope to promote Lara with the action skills that I have." Carroll, who considers herself "very, very lucky", is enjoying every bit of her new-found role.

After jetting to countries like Australia, Russia, Poland and Germany, she's off to Dubai for more promotions.

Tomb Raider: Underworld is designed specifically for next generation consoles. In it, the sexy heroine discovers the existence of a powerful hammer owned by Norse God Thor which is said to be capable of smashing mountains and destroying Gods.

While Carroll has previously admitted that she is not a big gamer, she has tried her hand at the game. She feels gamers will enjoy the wide-ranging autonomy and the new challenges they get in this latest version.

Ambitious In five years, Carroll hopes to fulfil her ambition of becoming a Hollywood actress. She said: "I would like to take on action roles, because I like the idea of doing my own stunts. Jackie Chan, that's someone I would definitely like to work with."

Before being discovered, Carroll was a golf club receptionist and little-known actress. Nowadays, she tends to be greeted by screams of "Lara", although admittedly her fans in Singapore have been more subdued.

While her adoring male fans (in an approximate ratio of 7 out of 10) yesterday didn't scream their hearts out like an adolescent girl at a boy band concert, they showed their devotion in subtler ways. Cameras were at the ready to snap their idol.

Young men stood in an orderly fashion on the second floor of the shopping centre, so as to get a bird's eye view of Carroll as she tumbled acrobatically across the stage.

Gushed Mr Kelvin Ong, 20, a third-year student at Singapore Polytechnic: "She's a great form of advertising for Lara Croft rather than just showing visuals of the game.

"She has the face, the figure, the stunts, everything."

Mr Mandy Mabalot, 31, an assistant restaurant manager, specially timed his 15-minute coffee break just so he could catch her in action at the mall.

The Filipino national who has been playing Tomb Raider for about six months thinks that Carroll is "beautiful" - "she's definitely the prettiest Lara Croft so far".

Mr Peh Chee Wei, 28, an assistant engineer who was clicking away with his camera, perhaps paid Carroll the ultimate compliment: "Other than Angelina Jolie, she is the most similar model to how the character looks like."

He added: "She's very sexy, looks tough and is totally cool, I would like to meet her." Jolie took on the Lara Croft role in two spin-off movies.

Carroll, who is currently single, gave Singaporean men the thumb sup.

She said: "The men I've met so far are lovely, they've been real gentlemen so far."

When pressed for more in what she looks for in a mate, she repeated her usual stance of seeking out a male version of her.

She said: "I want someone who is very athletic,who can keep up with me."

This story was first published in The New Paper on 25 October 2008.