  We present the first single-burst stellar population models which covers the
optical and the infrared wavelength range between 3500 and 50000 Angstrom and
which are exclusively based on empirical stellar spectra. To obtain these joint
models, we combined the extended MILES models in the optical with our new
infrared models that are based on the IRTF (Infrared Telescope Facility)
library. The latter are available only for a limited range in terms of both age
and metallicity. Our combined single-burst stellar population models were
calculated for ages larger than 1 Gyr, for metallicities between [Fe/H] = -0.40
and 0.26, for initial mass functions of various types and slopes, and on the
basis of two different sets of isochrones. They are available to the scientific
community on the MILES web page. We checked the internal consistency of our
models and compared their colour predictions to those of other models that are
available in the literature. Optical and near infrared colours that are
measured from our models are found to reproduce the colours well that were
observed for various samples of early-type galaxies. Our models will enable a
detailed analysis of the stellar populations of observed galaxies.
