Women refugees: Angelina Jolie diary

She may be a controversial figure but Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie is helping to raise the profile of women refugees everywhere.

She's better known as the real-life woman behind the virtual kick-arse character Lara Croft. But Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie doesn't spend all her time surrounded by Tinseltown excess. The Oscar-winning star instead chooses to travel to the poorest countries of the world, acting as goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

Her appointment as goodwill ambassador earlier this year may have raised a few eyebrows - after all, the 26-year-old actress has admitted to carrying a vial of her husband's blood around her neck, sleeping with knives and eating raw meat - but she has already proved herself a valuable asset.

The Girl, Interrupted star has paid discreet visits to a number of ravaged countries, helping the starving in Africa, meeting Afghan refugees in Pakistan and travelling to Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Cambodia. She has now released diaries she kept during that time on the Internet to highlight the work of the UNHCR.

She cites one of her ambitions as helping to raise awareness of the plight of refugees worldwide, stressing: 'People need to understand that all of them, if they had a chance, would like to go home. They are saving their lives and trying to survive and keep families alive.'

Arriving back from an emotional visit to Pakistan to meet Afghan refugees, Jolie wiped tears from her eyes as she described the sight of small children making a living by picking through garbage. She said: 'What do you do about that? It's really awful.'

The Tomb Raider star, recently split from husband Billy Bob Thornton, has been more than happy to put her money where her mouth is - she has already donated $1 million of her own money to the UNHCR coffers. Earlier this year, Jolie and Thornton also adopted a seven-month-old Cambodian baby, named Maddox, determined to spare him the harsh life he would otherwise have had.

Jolie hasn't ruled out adopting another needy child. 'I would love to adopt another child, from wherever there is a need,' she told reporters. 'For me it makes perfect sense to go to an orphanage and find a child that needs a home.'

She follows in illustrious footsteps - past goodwill ambassadors have included Sophia Loren and Richard Burton.

Read Angelina's diaries