Beauty queens keep fingers crossed for Miss World!

The Miss World pageant began in 1951 and is the oldest international beauty pageant. Russia's Ksenia Sukhinova won the title last year in Johannesburg and this year’s pageant is just a blink away. So let’s check out some strong contenders for the Miss World ’09 crown...
Pooja Chopra, Miss India
Miss India believes in destiny and claims that she will put her best foot forward at the pageant.She adds, “A lot of people are praying for me, even people who don’t know me directly, as they want the crown to come back to India. So, with 1.2 billion people putting pressure on God, I think it should work.”
Yu Sheng, Miss China
Ya Sheng says, "I can't say now who is the most beautiful because we perceive people as more beautiful when we know them better. There are 1.3 billion people behind me, so I have confidence. This is my honour, and I prepared a lot for this competition and want to deliver the culture of China."
Mariatu Kargbo, Miss Sierra Leone
Mariatu works in television in China, and said support from the People’s Republic was helping her achieve her goals. "The Chinese people help me to help the poor people, because that is my dream, to help the poor people in Africa and all over the world," said she.
The Freetown girl said her homeland had settled down since the 1991-2002 civil war, but still needed a lot of help. "Now a lot of foreigners, especially the Chinese people, they are a lot in Sierra Leone, doing business there. We try to see the kind of things we can do to promote, to help the poor people because people without feet and arms, they cannot work and we can help them to produce and give them something to live on.”
Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge, Miss England
The new Miss England is getting used to life in the spotlight. A British Army soldier decorated for bravery fighting in Iraq, she was runner-up in the original competition in July but was hastily promoted last week after Rachel Christie stepped down.
The athlete, niece of British Olympic gold medal winning sprinter Linford Christie, was arrested after an alleged nightclub punch-up with Miss Manchester in a row over a beefy television personality called Tornado.
"I thought it was a joke, it seems really unreal," Hodge, dubbed "Combat Barbie", said on her call-up. It's a whirlwind. Sometimes you can be over-prepared so I'll probably come across as a bit more natural. I like going to work and being a bit of a tomboy, and then I like getting dressed up, like all girls."
Katharine Brown, Miss Scotland
Katharine said she was being supported by her old school friend, tennis world number four Andy Murray. "Last time I spoke to him he'd just won a tournament and I said congratulations, but he was like 'no, congratulations to you, Miss Scotland'. He was so supportive," the actress said.