|PIC1|America's "Most Watched Pastor" Joel Osteen will be featured on Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006.

The show is scheduled to air Tuesday 12 December, on ABC Television Network.

Popular American media personality Barbara Walters will host the annual hour-long ABC news special, which highlights some of the year's most prominent names in entertainment, politics, sports and business.

Joel Osteen is the first pastor to be featured on the programme.

Osteen is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential, which has sold over 4 million copies and remained on top of the New York Times bestsellers list since its release in October 2004.

Osteen and his wife Victoria are pastors of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, one of the largest and most diverse churches in America. Lakewood Church's weekly services are broadcast on numerous national cable networks, including Discovery, USA Network, ABC Family, and Daystar Television Network.

Osteen can also be seen internationally in over 100 nations through CNBC Europe, Vision Canada, CNBC Australia and Middle East Television. Nielsen Media Research rated Joel Osteen's broadcast as the #1 inspirational programme nationally, based on average television viewers per market.