Pakistani schoolgirl campaigner Malala Yousafzai has become the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Aged just 17 years, 2 months and 23 days, Malala was recognised on Friday for her work promoting the right for girls to have an education.

Malala won the award jointly with Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.

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One of the world's most respected awards, the Nobel Peace Prize is given to people or organisations that have made outstanding achievements in different areas.

Past winners have included some of history’s best-known activists for peace, including Martin Luther King, Jr, Nelson Mandela, and Jimmy Carter.

Announcing their decision, the prize judges said about Malala: "Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls' rights to education."

She was left seriously injured two years ago after being attacked in Pakistan for her campaign work by extremist group the Taliban.

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Malala, who was shot in the head during the attack which took place on a schoolbus, has recovered well after travelling to the UK for treatment.

She now goes to school in Birmingham and continues her campaigning.

Her new achievement adds to her existing world record for being the most searched-for female on the internet, after she ranked first among women in Google's "Zeitgeist" global report of the most searched-for people of 2013.