{The standard muon identification in the ATLAS experiment is optimized for
muons with transverse momentum ($p_{\textrm{T}}$) above 5 GeV. However searches for
low mass resonances and many B-physics studies often need to identify
muons with lower $p_{\textrm{T}}$, where standard algorithms suffer from large
backgrounds originating from sources such as hadron decays in flight. A
new LowPt selection has been developed to allow optimal muon
identification down to 3 GeV in $p_{\textrm{T}}$ using variables that are sensitive to
track kinks in the inner detector and to the imbalance between momentum
measured in the inner detector and in the muon spectrometer. The new
LowPt identification, analyzed in simulation and in data, shows good efficiencies for muons produced in hard collisions and is effective in rejecting backgrounds.