The eighteen-year-old beauty from Bangalore is the 4th Indian contestant to be crowned Miss World in the last 7 years. The other three winners were Aishwarya Rai who took the crown in 1994, Diana Hayden in 1997 and last years winner Yukta Mookhey.  To further confirm the calibre of Indian women, Lara Dutta won the title of Miss Universe in May, meaning India now holds both coveted titles.

     Priyanka Chopra, the bookies favourite to win, was 1 of nearly 100 contestants, the largest number ever to compete in the history of Miss World, and won an amazing $100,000 (£70,000). The show, watched by an estimated audience of 2 billion, marked the 50th anniversary of the competition started by the late Eric Morley in 1951.  For this special anniversary, 21 former Miss Worlds were welcomed to the ceremony, including Reita Faria, India's first winner in 1966 and Diana Hayden who won just over 3 decades later in 1997.

     The Miss World winner, whose ambition is to become a clinical physiologist, impressed judges when she answered the question of which woman she admired most and why. Priyanka told the world she respected Mother Theresa for devoting her life to helping others.

     Priyanka, who projected confidence and intelligence throughout the competition, attributed this to the high standard of education in India. When host Jerry Springer asked whether she felt pressure to win the competition in light of India's past performance, she responded she was grateful for the high expectations demanded of her as she performs best under pressure.

     Over the last few years, Miss World has become increasingly popular in India where it attracts an amazing 96% of the television audience. These figures resulted in global Asian broadcaster Zee Network obtaining rights for the pageant for the next three years. 

     Although the competition attracted a small group of protesters claiming the event is degrading to women, there is no denying the competitions worth as a charitable organisation. Priyanka will now work with the Miss World organization for the next twelve months fulfilling the theme of the pageant, Beauty with a Purpose. The theme introduced by organizer Julia Morley will involve travelling around the world to raise money for disadvantaged and disabled children everywhere. 

     To date the organization has raised a massive £100 million for children's charities.  Miss World's chief executive Julia Morely has been responsible for the charity raising over the years. Speaking to journalist Paul Hunwick she says, "We don't scream and shout about it but we are quietly very proud of the fact that many children's lives have been saved thanks to the efforts of the Miss World Organisation and its supporters.