ARNOLD Schwarzenegger has announced his first project since leaving political office, The Governator.

Getting its title from the nickname the Terminator star was given when he served as governor of California, the project is a superhero TV series developed in collaboration with comic book artist Stan Lee - creator of Spider-Man and X-Men, among others.

Schwarzenegger, 63, told Entertainment Weekly magazine: "When I ran for governor back in 2003 and I started hearing people talking about 'The Governator', I thought the word was so cool.

"The word Governator combined two worlds - the world of politics and the movie world. And the cartoon brings everything together. It combines the governor, the Terminator, the bodybuilding world, the True Lies world."

In the series, which will be aimed at children, The Governator will fight crime and right wrongs, aided by a quartet of teenage helpers, each of whom possesses a unique set of talents.