She is not launching a singing career. She just wanted to be a part of the project and it turned out well.

Robert Garlock Spokesman

As well as starring Winslet as the voice of Belle, the film will also feature the voices of Nicolas Cage and Simon Callow.

Winslet said she would only let the song be released if the proceeds went to two charities chosen by her - the NSPCC and Sargeant Cancer Care for Children.

"She wanted to be the voice in the film and the executives at EMI were taken with it and asked her if they could have her permission to release it," her spokesman Robert Garlock told BBC News Online.

"She said as long as the proceeds went to her charities."

But she is not launching a singing career, he said, despite describing the song as a "terrific ballad".

Classic Dickens

"She just wanted to be a part of the project and it turned out well. So if some charities could get some money out of it, she was happy to help out."

The film will be an animated version of the classic Dickens story.

Mr Garlock could not confirm whether the film and single would also be released in America in November.

The film is being made by Illuminated Films, who were responsible for hit animations When the Wind Blows and The Snowman.

Impressed

The Snowman also spawned a Christmas hit, when Aled Jones' Walking in the Air went to number five in the UK singles chart in 1985.

Winslet impressed many with the quality of her singing voice in 1995's Sense and Sensibility.

Before The Christmas Carol, Winslet will be seen at cinemas playing Th�r�se Raquin in the film of the same name, based on Emile Zola's passionate tale of adultery, murder and revenge.

She also stars in Enigma - a British film based on the race to crack the enigma code in World War II - which is expected to be released in September.