Michelle Obama has joined the popular social media app Snapchat.

The US first lady shared a selfie with her first post on the messaging service, before announcing she will appear on Carpool Karaoke with James Corden.

A spokeswoman for Mrs Obama said her Snapchat followers will see images from her upcoming trip to Liberia, Morocco and Spain to promote education for girls.

Mrs Obama’s teenage daughters Malia and Sasha will accompany her on the trip, while actresses Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto will also make guest appearances.

The first lady will also share Snapchat images of the White House kitchen garden and of Obama family’s dogs Bo and Sunny, her spokeswoman said.

Mrs Obama, 52, is an active social media user with some 4.58 million followers on Twitter and five million on the photo-sharing app Instagram.

She is following in the footsteps of Adele, Elton John, Justin Bieber and Stevie Wonder, who have all taken part in Carpool Karaoke on Corden’s US chat show The Late Late Show. The date the segment will be aired has not been announced.