LOS ANGELES, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A Los Angeles high school on Wednesday renamed its journalism program in honor of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, whose murder in Pakistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the Unites States made international headlines.

Pearl, a graduate of Birmingham High School, was kidnapped and murdered by an extremist militant group close to al-Qaeda in Pakistan in 2002 while researching a story. The school's program was renamed the Daniel Pearl Journalism and Communications Major.

"We applaud the leadership and educational insight of those whohave initiated the effort into renaming the major," said Judea Pearl, father of the slain journalist.

He said the symbolic connection with Daniel Pearl will be a powerful tool to make educational programs relevant to young people and inspire them to pursue a career in journalism.

Judea Pearl heads the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which his family formed in 2002 to promote the ideals that inspired his son's life and work.

"A Mighty Heart," a Hollywood account of Daniel Pearl's journey to Pakistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and his final days there, is scheduled to be released in June. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Pearl's then-pregnant wife Mariane.