Miss Venezuela crowned Miss Universe 2008
{image-miss universe_14072008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Nha Trang City(Vietnam)Jul 14: Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza, an interior designer, was named Miss Universe 2008 on Monday, July 14, after outperforming and outsmarting 14 other young women in the final round of the 57th pageant held in Vietnam's central Nha Trang city.
Mendoza,
22,
said
she
likes
design,
photography,
advertising
and
wave
surfing.
The
Venezuelan
girl
with
the
height
of
1.78
meters
can
speak
Spanish,
Italian
and
English.
Miss
Universe
2007
Riyo
Mori
handed
over
the
crown
worth
120,000
U.S.
dollars
to
Mendoza,
who
will
continue
Mori's
work
of
traveling
around
the
world
to
promote
education
and
HIVS
research.
The
first
runner-up
is
Miss
Columbia
Taliana
Vargas
(20
years
old,
1.78
meters
in
height),
the
second
Miss
Dominica
Marianne
Cruz
(23
years
old,
1.81
meters),
the
third
Miss
Russian
Vera
Krasova
(20
years
old,
1.77
meters),
and
the
fourth
Miss
Mexico
Elisa
Najera
(21
years
old,
1.83
meters).
Miss
Universe
Vietnam,
singer
Nguyen
Thuy
Lam,
was
among
Top
15.
The
15
contestants,
selected
from
80
candidates
worldwide,
competed
for
the
Miss
Universe
in
a
grand
show,
which
was
live
televised
to
170
countries
and
regions,
with
exciting
performances
of
the
beautiful
women
in
swimsuits
and
evening
gowns,
and
their
quick
responses
to
the
judges' questions.
Before
appearing
on
the
stage,
the
candidates,
including
the
15
finalists
actively
participated
in
social
activities,
especially
charity
works,
in
some
Vietnamese
localities.
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