Lily Newman, 101, has been chosen as the new face of a national charity thanks to her wizardry on her computer.

Sarah Bourne, a photographer for The Argus, took a picture of Lily which will adorn billboards across the country in the autumn.

Lily, who lives in Hove, said her role as a centenarian model was just the latest in a lifetime defying stereotypes.

The original photograph, taken last year, shows Lily surfing the web and sending a thank-you email to the Queen for her 100th birthday telegram.

Help the Aged organisers spotted the picture at the charity's summer exhibition at the Royal Academy in July and knew it was just what they were looking for.

Andrea Lane, public relations manager for Help the Aged, said: "We wanted an image to represent older people embracing new technology. The photo encapsulated everything we wanted - it couldn't have been better.

"We will be using it on all our posters and ads for the relaunch of our web site in October."

Lily is thrilled the photograph has been chosen.

She said: "It is a delightful photograph. I'm so happy it is being used in a positive way."

Sarah took the picture at the St John's Centre in Hove, where Lily had been taking part in internet classes.

She said: "I saw the image of Lily at the computer as I walked into the room and got my camera out straight away and started snapping.

"It was totally spontaneous - you couldn't set up that kind of shot."

She entered Help the Aged's competition after hearing about it from a tutor.

Up-and-coming photographers were invited to submit pictures drawn from the society's four main themes - combating poverty, reducing isolation, defeating ageism and promoting quality in care.

From thousands of entries across the UK, Sarah's was one of 54 to be exhibited at the Royal Academy.

The images were then auctioned to raise money for the charity.

Entitled 'Life is ... embracing new things', Sarah's shot sold for £55, the highest bid of the event.

She said: "I've had an amazing response to the photo. People find it inspiring and uplifting.

"I'm really chuffed. It is also wonderful to know one of my photos is being used to help others."

Lily, who has one grandchild and one great-grandchild, started using the internet to contact her great-niece in Australia.

When she's not surfing the web, she enjoys the more traditional hobbies of crosswords and word games.