Image caption Wonder Woman has been given a tougher image (Picture: DC Comics)

Wonder Woman has changed her looks and dons a trendy new outfit in issue 600 of the comic book series.

The super hero's star-spangled swimsuit is to be replaced by a radical new style that includes leggings.

The visual makeover goes hand in hand with changes to the Wonder Woman story, publisher DC Comics says.

DC Comics has hired a new writer, J Michael Straczynski, to give Wonder Woman's life a new direction.

Mr Straczynski told the New York Times that it had been time to bring the iconic character into the 21st Century.

"She's been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941," Mr Straczynski said. "What woman only wears only one outfit for 60-plus years?"

He said the redesign of Wonder Woman's outfit had been his priority when he took on the job.

"I wanted to toughen her up and give her a modern sensibility," Mr Straczynski said.

Superhuman powers

Wonder Woman is an Amazon with superhuman powers and the alter ego of Princess Diana of Themyscira.

During the last 69 years, she has fought a range of villains and also appeared in other comic series such as Justice League.

In the 1970s, Lynda Carter played the super heroine in the series The New Original Wonder Woman and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman.

An animated film was released last year, starring Keri Russell.