The Director of the External Cultural and UNESCO Department under the ministry, Pham Sanh Chau, asked overseas Vietnamese and foreign friends to support Ha Long Bay at a campaign launch in Hanoi on April 16.

Ha Long Bay is officially a contender in the second phase of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. The votes by the diplomats, overseas Vietnamese and foreign friends will help Ha Long Bay enter the third round of the selection, Chau said.

The voting for seven new world wonders on the Website www.new7wonders.com, launched by the NewOpenWorld, has entered the second phase, lasting from January 7 to July 7, 2009, where 261 sites of seven groups will vie to make it to the top 77.

By April 15, Ha Long Bay was placed third out of 25 sites in group G of sea sights.

Recently, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Kumho group and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have opened a showroom at the Hanoi Daewoo Hotel to promote the image of Ha Long Bay in support of its race to become one of seven new world wonders.

VietNamNet/VOV