From Associated Press:

ATLANTA — Before YouTube, Katherine Lee was just another pretty flight attendant who worked for the nation's third-largest airline.

In April, up to 80 million Delta Air Lines passengers worldwide will know her as the face of Delta's newest safety video, in which Lee walks fliers through government-mandated safety instructions with a smile and a naughty-looking wag of the finger.

The video — which you can see at http://youtube.com/watch?v=MgpzUo_kbFY — generated a buzz after being posted on the Atlanta-based airline's corporate blog and YouTube. Admirers have nicknamed Lee "Deltalina," a reference to Angelina Jolie, whom they say she resembles.

"The main focus is to get our customers' attention and make sure they know what to do in the event of an emergency ... adding bits of humor and unexpected twists to something pretty standard," says Chris Babb, a Delta product manager in charge of producing the video.

Along with mandatory Federal Aviation Administration safety instructions (seat belts, oxygen masks and the like), the video has a driving beat on the soundtrack and in one spot includes a computerized sparkle on the teeth of a male flight attendant demonstrating a life vest.

There's also the finger wag — halfway through the ½-minute video, Lee playfully wags a long finger at the camera while instructing that "Smoking ... is not allowed, on any Delta flight."

"I hope they are holding classes for all ... FAs (flight attendants) on how to do the finger-wag," one viewer wrote on the Internet airline forum FlyerTalk.

Every few years, airlines typically refresh safety videos, which may be used in place of having crew members perform a safety demonstration on a flight. Babb said the airline considered many different styles of videos, including a popular animated safety video by Virgin Atlantic, but in the end opted to have a version in which a Delta employee spoke directly to the audience.

Deborah Cohn, associate professor of marketing at Touro College in New York, said Delta's video may have more staying power with passengers than regular airline safety videos but thought the video's "edgy" music, could make passengers jittery.

"It really captures your attention — the woman in the video is beautiful and you can't take your eyes off her," she said.

David Stempler, president of the passenger advocacy group Air Travelers Association, said "anything to make it more lively is going to get passengers' attention."