Vietnam beauty crowned Miss International

22-year-old model becomes first Vietnamese to win major global beauty contest Vu Hoang Diep became the first Vietnamese to win major international beauty contest when crowned Miss International Beauty in Daqing, China, on Saturday. The 22-year-old beat 56 contestants from the world and also won the Miss Talent title together with entries from Brazil and Puerto Rico. Diep was second runner-up in the Miss Bikini section behind a Venezuelan and an Australian and was also among the top three with online voters. Diep, who stands 1.74m and measures 84-60-90, won Miss Sea 2007 and Miss Favourite at Miss Viet Nam last year. "Diep was extremely surprised and in tears when phoning me with the news," said Tran Thanh Long, director of the PL Modelling Company, which sent Diep to the contest. "She realised our trust in her." Diep planned to spend four days in Beijing before she going home. Miss South Korea topped the online vote while other minor category winners were: Brazil (body beautiful), Indonesia (friendly), Thailand (photogenic), Philippines (best traditional costume), Shanghai (skin), Singapore (humanity), Beijing (performance) and Italy (fashion). The Miss International Beauty Pageant, which started in 1973, symbolises beauty and harmony for different nationalities and aims to develop friendship across the world and promote peace. (VNA) http://www.nhandan.com.vn