The Vietnamese contestant in the Miss Universe 2009 pageant currently ranks second in the online poll on the pageant’s official website, after Miss Indonesia.

The Miss University organising board posts photos and personal information of all contestants on its website and calls for worldwide readers to vote for their favourite face.

With an average rating of 3.1 and over 3200 votes by noon July 21, Vietnam’s Vo Hoang Yen temporarily ranks second, behind Indonesian entrant Zivanna Letisha Siregar, who gained 3.2 rating points and over 3600 votes.

The third position belongs to El Salvador’s Mayella Mena, with 2.9 points and over 780 votes.

Besides voting for their favourite contestants, readers can also write their thoughts about entrants. A reader nicknamed George76 commented: “I’m not a Vietnamese nor Asian. At my first look on your photos on this website, I didn’t know how you look in general. But after looking at more photos of Hoang Yen, I must admit that the Vietnamese contestant is very attractive. In previous pageants, the winners came from South America but this time I am cheering for Asia. Good luck Vietnamese beauty!”

On Missosology, a website specialising in global pageants, Hoang Yen also ranks second in the Miss Universe 2009 People’s Choice, behind Miss Thailand. One month ago, Hoang Yen was in the lead while Miss Thailand ranked 7^th.

Hoang Yen has been highly applauded by some international beauty experts. Miss Universe’s expert Nina Cleopatra commented that Hoang Yen is one of best in catwalk techniques.

VietNamNet/VNE