The actress, who arrived in Vietnam yesterday, arrived at the Tam Binh orphanage carrying her five-year-old son Maddox, whom she adopted in Cambodia in 2002.

About 20 children dressed in traditional Vietnamese tunics, called ao dai, welcomed the pair with flowers.

About 20 minutes after the star went inside, someone carried the boy outside to a waiting minivan with dark windows. Angelina followed him into the vehicle, which then headed into Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen Van Trung, the orphanage director, said Angelina greeted the boy with a kiss and held him. The child at first seemed shy with his mother-to-be, he said.

The star’s vehicle later arrived at the Department of Justice, where Vietnamese adoption officials said a ceremony was conducted at which Angelina officially took possession of the child.

Vietnamese officials have approved the adoption but US officials need to give the adoption the green light before it’s final, said Nguyen Van Trung.

The child must have a medical check-up before US officials can issue him a passport and visa. The procedures could be completed within the next day or two, an adoption official said.

Angelina in Vietnam to adopt new son - Mar 15 2007
Angelina Jolie has arrived in Vietnam, where she plans to adopt a three-year-old boy.

Airport security officials told a photographer working for the Associated Press that the star was whisked into a car with dark windows and driven away.

The actress was expected to attend an adoption ceremony with Vietnamese officials in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday, according to adoption officials.

The boy was abandoned at a Ho Chi Minh City hospital as a baby and then taken to the nearby Tam Binh orphanage, where he has lived ever since, said Nguyen Van Trung, the orphanage director.

Shortly after he arrived at the orphanage, the Tam Binh staff tried unsuccessfully to locate the boy’s birth parents.

The adoption is being processed quickly because the boy is an older child, and his files were nearly complete before Angelina decided to adopt, Trung said.

The star already has three children with Brad Pitt - five-year-old Maddox, adopted from Cambodia, two-year-old Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia, and baby daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May.

Angie expected in Vietnam for adoption - Mar 14 2007
Angelina Jolie is expected to arrive in Vietnam later today to adopt a three-year-old boy, adoption officials said.

The actress is expected to attend an adoption ceremony with Vietnamese officials in Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow morning.

After she receives the child, Angelina will meet with US consular officials, who must review the adoption before a passport can be issued for the boy.

If all goes according to plan, the star could take the child home by the weekend, officials said.

The boy was abandoned at a Ho Chi Minh City hospital as a baby and then taken to the nearby Tam Binh orphanage, where he has lived ever since, said Nguyen Van Trung, the orphanage director.

Shortly after he arrived at the orphanage, the Tam Binh staff tried unsuccessfully to locate the boy’s birth parents.

The adoption is being processed quickly because the boy is an older child, and his files were nearly complete before Angelina decided to adopt, Trung said.