headerKey in s:select tag in struts2.0

[D kukreja]

In s:select , I am using hashmap to populate the selection box. I want the first element from the hashmap to be preselected in the selectionbox. I know that I should give this value in headerkey and headerValue. I can have 2 more string properties in Action and populate them in action and use it here. Is there any alternative way ?
Here is my tag:
<s:select label="something"
list="countries"
headerKey="${countries.key}" headerValue="${countries.value}" name="selectedCountry" emptyOption="false"/>

thanks