The biggest night in Canadian music will for the first time be broadcast in the United States and around the world, offering audiences home-grown talent and an international flair.

The Juno Awards, held in Halifax, will be broadcast on a total of 11 MTV and VH1 networks.

In addition to the United States (MTV2), the awards broadcast will be available to 246 million households in:

Australia (VH1), China (MTV), India (VH1), Italy (MTV), Latin America (VH1), Malaysia (MTV), Portugal (MTV), Singapore (MTV), Taiwan (MTV) and the United Kingdom (VH1).

"Canadian artists have long been leaders on the world stage, and so its only fitting that the Juno Awards can be delivered to the world," said Susanne Boyce, CTV president of programming.

With Pamela Anderson as host, the show will feature 11 performances from groups such as Bedouin Soundclash, the Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Nickelback and crooner Michael Buble.

Coldplay's Chris Martin will also introduce Bryan Adams, who will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame Sunday night.

A total of seven awards will also be handed out on April 2 during the two-hour broadcast, including: Artist of the Year; New group of the Year; Single of the Year; Songwriter of the Year; Juno Fan Choice Award; Alternative Album of the Year and Album of the Year.

Alberta rockers Nickelback lead the Juno race with six Juno nominations.

Following closely with five nods is Michael Buble, whose sentimental track Home about feeling homesick was a big hit. Buble was nominated for a Grammy this year, but lost out to Tony Bennett.

Jazz crooner Diana Krall is also up for five nominations, and Neil Young is up for three awards.

Organizers say this year's Juno Awards show will have the energy of a live concert, partly because of the design of the stage.

Elevated walkways will extend out to a central pod in the middle of the arena -- where the awards will be presented. The walkways will be surrounded by fans in the general admission section.

"The shape of this walkway is like the waterways that lead to the ocean," said production designer Pete Faragher.

"The production design of the 2006 Juno Awards has been influenced by the wind, the ocean, the rocky coastline, lighthouses and the easy-going way of life in Atlantic Canada," said Faragher.

The awards will be broadcast from the Halifax Metro Centre on CTV from 7 to 9 p.m. in all time zones.

A total of 39 Juno Awards will be handed out over the weekend. Most of them will be distributed at an industry-only gala dinner on Saturday night.