The announcement was made to coincide with the 500 day countdown to the start of the Games, the first major international mulit-sports event to be staged in India since the Asian Games in 1982.

Moneghetti, affectionally known around the world as "Mona", has a long association with the Commonwealth Games that began in 1986, when as a 23-year-old he was selected in his first Australian team for Edinburgh and won a bronze medal in the marathon.

He improved to silver at Auckland four years later and then gold in Victoria in 1994.

Moneghetti finished his Commonwealth Games career with a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1998 event in Kuala Lumpar.

In 2006 he was appointed Mayor of the Commonwealth Games Village in Melbourne.

Perry Crosswhite, the chief executive of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA), said: "The ACGA are delighted to appoint Steve Moneghetti as Chef de Mission of the Australian team for Delhi 2010.

“Steve is a highly respected leader amongst his peers and the Australian community and will be a valuable asset for the Australian team in Delhi.

“As leader of the Australian Commonwealth Games team, Steve will be responsible for encouraging all team members to perform at their best at the Games, and to represent Australia with pride and respect.

“He will also be the team representative in the eyes of the Delhi 2010 Games organisers, and will be the spokesperson for the team.”

Australia expects to send its largest-ever team to an overseas Commonwealth Games, despite its concerns over security in India.

The team is expected to compromise of more than 425 athletes and 175 officials.

Moneghetti enjoyed a brilliant marathon career - the highlight of which was winning a bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships.

He also won the Berlin Marathon in 1990, the first race to be held in the city since the unificiation of the city, and finished second twice in the London Marathon.

Moneghetti was also one of the funniest.

He said: "I am delighted to continue my association with the Commonwealth Games which began in Edinburgh in 1986 when I was possibly the last athlete selected on the team.

"Shows what persistence can do!

“Following on from my role as Mayor of the Village at the Melbourne Games I will build upon the strong relationship Australia has within the Commonwealth Games Family.

“I plan to be a leading member of a united team focussed on representing our country with pride and integrity.

“Moreover my involvement as an athlete, coach and liaison officer with previous teams will provide invaluable knowledge across all sports in Delhi.”

Moneghetti will be supported by Crosswhite, who will be team general manger, and Diane Gallagher , the assistant team general manager, Dr Peter Harcourt, the team doctor, and Brian Roe, the team transport and logistics director.

Australia is the most successful country in the history of the Commonwealth Games, an event that was first held in 1930.

It has finished top of the medal tally in 10 out of the 18 Games and it is position it has held in five consecutive events, a record stretching back to Auckland in 1990.

That compares with England seven times and Canada once.

But Crosswhite warned that the Home Countries are set to be a threat in New Delhi because of the benefits of National Lottery funding introduced n Britain to help them prepare for the London 2012 Olympics.

He said: “We are expecting to send around 425 athletes to Delhi.

"This will be our largest team ever sent to a Commonwealth Games held overseas.

"We had 371 in Manchester [in 2002] and 425 in Melbourne [2006].

“The Delhi Games will present many challenges, and this includes our expected performance.

"The total Australian team medal tally has increased over the last five Commonwealth Games, peaking at 221 in Melbourne in 2006.

“We need to bear in mind that achieving a greater overall medal count than Melbourne will be a difficult task.

"It is not a home Games and triathlon and basketball have been removed from the programme, two sports in which Australia won gold medals in Melbourne.

“Our biggest challenge will come from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland because of the huge Government investment in athletes for the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

“However in saying that, the ACGA has provided over A$6.5 million (£3.1 miillion) since Melbourne to prepare athletes for competition in Delhi through the Delhi 2010 Preparation Programme.

“In addition, the ACGA has provided over A$2 million ((£983,000) since Melbourne to assist junior athletes gain international competition experience through the Australian Junior Commonwealth Games squad programme.