Mathematics can add up to a good job and a large salary, says the Department for Education in a new publicity campaign.

Celebrities with a strong youth appeal, such as boxer Prince Naseem Hamed and disc jockey Pete Tong are to contribute to radio advertisements promoting the importance of maths.

As well as promoting maths as a key to successful employment, the campaign will also seek to give maths a more street-credible image, in a campaign targeted at 12 to 14-year-olds.

"It can be hard work convincing youngsters that maths is worth the effort," said Education Secretary David Blunkett, who described the campaign's main message as "maths equals top jobs".

The radio campaign, launched on Sunday, will also feature the television vet Trude Mostue and racing driver David Coulthard.

The celebrities will emphasise the importance of maths in their work, in an attempt to show its practical application in jobs that young people see as glamorous.

"Whether you're into techno or technology, you need maths. It helps you think and you can use it to work things out. Mixing and timing is just maths used instinctively. It's as cool as the music," says DJ Pete Tong.

Trude Mostue describes the significance of maths to her work as a vet. "Maths is crucial to my work. I need it to calculate the right dose of medicine for all the animals I treat. Without maths I just couldn't cope. You are going to need maths in later life, so learn it now."

The advertising campaign is part of Maths Year 2000, a year of events promoting the importance of all things mathematical, which follows last year's campaign to promote reading and writing.