Published:  00:00 Wednesday - December 17, 2008

Vietnamese beauty, Duong Truong Thien Ly, has earned the “Miss People’s Choice Award” at the official website of the contest www.missworld.com. The news was officially announced on December 16, two days after the final round of Miss World 2008.

After being discontinued for some years, the award has been restarted this year, creating an opportunity for candidates to enter the final round through votes from audiences all over the world. The vote was carried out on both websites www.missworld.com and www.amuso.com, a partner of Miss World Organisation (MWO) in holding the contest in 2008.

At first the organising board planned to announce the result in the final round held at 5pm on December 13 (local time) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The winner of the People’s Choice Award would have been granted a ticket to enter the top 15, like those in the Misses Beach Beauty, Top Model, Sport, Talent and Beauty with a Purpose categories.

However, before the final round took place, an announcement was released at address www.missworld.com that the Miss People’s Choice Award couldn’t be delivered on that night due to some technical problems, audiences in some countries couldn’t vote for the award. It was decided it would be fairest to the candidates to cancel the award altogether, according to Julia Morley, chairwoman of MWO.

Thien Ly lost a chance to be present in the top 15. It’s a pity and a lost opportunity for Vietnam to increase its standing in the rankings of the world’s most beautiful women.