The United Nations has prepared for the possibility of aliens arriving on Earth as it is set to designate a person to communicate with aliens in behalf of all mankind.

While some may argue that the job should be given to prominent figures such as the US president, the leaders of the European Union or even the Pope, the UN is set to assign the task to an unknown Malaysian astrophysicist who heads the organization's obscure Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa).

Mazlan Othman will speak at the Royal Society's Kavli conference center in Buckinghamshire next week to describe her potential task. She is expected to talk about the planetary discoveries around other stars, which makes the likelihood of extraterrestrial life stronger than ever. The discoveries have made it important for the UN to co-ordinate humanity's response to "first contact."

Scientists are becoming more concerned about how humankind should respond to the arrival of aliens. In a recent lecture to fellow scientists, Othman said: "The continued search for extraterrestrial communication, by several entities, sustains the hope that some day humankind will receive signals from extraterrestrials. When we do, we should have in place a co-ordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject. The UN is a ready-made mechanism for such co-ordination."

Othman's first task may be to protect aliens upon their arrival. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 stipulates that the UN shall protect Earth against contamination from alien species by "sterilising" them.