SHE has often described him to the media as her 'nice European man' but refused to reveal his identity.

Until now, that is.

Popular Malaysian actress Maya Karin finally had to reveal her beau's identity when she announced her wedding plans at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur recently.

The 29-year-old star - frequent fodder for the Malaysian paparazzi - will be marrying her British-born fiance, mathematics teacher Steven David Shorthose, 38, in Italy this month.

Speaking to The New Paper from London - where she was part of the Malaysian Film Week launch - Maya said she and Mr Shorthose have been dating for more than seven years.

'He never really proposed. It kind of came down to a discussion,' she said with a laugh.

The German-Indonesian beauty, whose full name is Maya Karin Roelcke, met the Liverpudlian when he was teaching her sister and brother at a private school in Kuala Lumpur.

The romance took off after several meetings at the school.

She said he takes very good care of her, is understanding and makes her laugh.

'He has all the qualities I want in a man,' she said.

Maya's nuptial announcement comes after months of furious speculation by the Malaysian media that she was marrying an expatriate.

Amazingly, there seem to be no photographs of the couple together in public.

But that has not stopped her fans from being curious about Maya's man.

There have been various photos of Mr Shorthose floating about in the blogosphere.

One, an identity card-sized picture is taken off the website of his current private school, The Alice Smith, where he teaches secondary school mathematics to expatriate children in Malaysia.

Malaysian blog syokkahwin.com posted a fuzzy picture of a muscular topless Caucasian man, wearing a pair of denim three-quarter pants and a bandana and carrying a football and a pair of sports shoes.

The heading above the photo was: 'Is this Maya Karin's boyfriend?'

And it continued with: 'If it is, she is a lucky girl.'

But some bloggers have expressed surprise that Maya's future husband was not in show business or a wealthy businessman or politician.

Maya said: 'There is always this unspoken word that I could do better.

'But I never thought about why I chose Steven. My measure of success is not based on material wealth or popularity.'

Maya's impending marriage has killed off persistent talk of her alleged romantic links with 32-year-old Malaysian politician Khairy Jamaluddin and singer-actor-director Yusry Abdul Halim, 35, of the Malaysian band KRU.

Maya has strongly denied that she had an affair with the politician, who is married to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's only daughter, Ms Nori Abdullah.

Maya said she is very discreet about her personal life and is not keen on putting her fiance in the line of cameras.

But she will have to, when she holds her two wedding ceremonies in Italy.

The couple chose a little town called Bellagio, near Lake Como.

Celebrity junkies may know that Lake Como is where Hollywood star George Clooney has a holiday home.

When asked why she was holding her wedding in Italy, she said she initially suggested having it in England.

'It was because his only parent - his mother - can't stand planes and I can't expect her to fly all the way to Malaysia.

'He suggested, since we were spending all this money having a wedding in England, let's have it somewhere where it's nice and sunny,' she said.

And since Mr Shorthose was familiar with Bellagio, it was easy to say yes, she added.

Maya declined to reveal what her wedding bill would be, except to say that both of them were footing a large part of it.

The Italian wedding will have three parts - a simple outdoor akad nikah (traditional religious ceremony), a civil ceremony and a dinner reception.

About 65 close friends and family will be attending the ceremonies in Italy on 9 and 14 Aug.

Mr Shorthose, who became a Muslim four years ago, is also known as Muhammad Ali.

They are holding a second reception in Kuala Lumpur on 29 Aug for friends, colleagues and the media.

About 700 invites will be sent out for the outdoor wedding. The venue is yet to be revealed to the media.

By Malaysian celebrity wedding standards - where the guest list can hit thousands - Maya's nuptials seem small.

She said: 'I am not the type to make such a hoo-ha about it. I have always been a simple person and weddings are supposed to be happy.

'I don't want anyone to pressure me into having a big wedding. I would go out of my mind if I had 2,000 people at my reception,' she said.

And she doesn't have a wedding planner. She is organising the whole thing with the help of her friends.

For the Italian leg of her nuptials, Maya will have three outfits, designed by up-and-coming Malaysian designer Syaiful Baharim.

Her traditional Malay outfit for the KL reception is designed by Radzuan Radziwill, who has made gowns for singers Siti Nurhaliza and Erra Fazira.

Mr Syaiful, 28, who has known Maya since 2002, described her style as 'clean, classic and timeless'.

He is designing two gowns and a suit for her, in traditional colours of pearl white and ivory.

'She is a very mature woman... no nonsense... who knows what she wants and she wants the outfits to be timeless.'

Career won't take backseat to marriage

HER impending marriage will not kill off her acting career, said Maya.

While there may be some changes to her lifestyle after marriage, her career won't take a backseat.

After Hari Raya in September, she will start rehearsals and shooting for her upcoming film Pisau Cukur (Shaving Knife), directed by Bernard Chauly.

And for the first time, she is also producing and hosting an green-theme television show, which she conceptualised with Malaysian cable channel Astro.

She is excited as she gets to call the shots.

'It is very nice to be in control. I've always been the type who has lots of ideas and suggestions but sometimes, it is not my place to speak.

Added Maya with a laugh: 'I've taken to producing quite naturally. Maybe it is because I am bossy, which is probably why I am organising my own wedding.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on Aug 2, 2008.