Miss Australia, Jennifer Hawkins, was crowned Miss Universe 2004 in a glitzy tuxedo-and-gown event in Ecuador.

Hawkins, a 20-year-old model and dancer, made the traditional strut along the 15-meter (50-foot) runway after receiving the crown from outgoing Miss Universe Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic.

Miss USA, Shandi Finnessey, was voted first runner-up by the panel of judges that included actress Bo Derek (news) and music producer Emilio Estefan. Miss Puerto Rico, Alba Giselle Reyes, was second runner-up.

Some 1.5 billion people in 150 countries watched the pageant, owned by billionaire New York real estate developer Donald Trump. Another 7,600 spectators paid 250 dollars a seat to watch the event live in an auditorium near Quito.

After she was announced the winner, Hawkins hugged the other finalists in the contest and beamed with joy as the Miss Universe crown of 800 diamonds, worth 250,000 dollars, was placed on her head.

Special prizes went to Miss Panama, Jessica Rodriguez, for best traditional costume, runner-up Giselle Reyes for most photogenic, and to Miss Italy, Laia Manetti, for most likable.

Eighty beautiful women from five continents took part in the 2004 edition of the Miss Universe pageant in Quito.

The results late Tuesday did not reflect the choice of the hundreds of Ecuadorans who attented a presentation show last week that introduced the contestants to the public.

Twenty-four-year-old Miss Ecuador, Susana Rivadeneira, received the biggest applause from her compatriots, followed by Miss Turkey, Fatos Segmen, 22, and Miss Paraguay, Yanina Gonzalez, 24.

None of them made it to the final set of three contestants.

The pageant drew some 500 journalists from around the world, who at one point were berated by Miss Bolivia, Gabriela Oviedo, who did not appreciate their questions about her country.

Oviedo said the journalists acted as though all Bolivians were Indians.

She went on to explain that La Paz may be full of poor, short people, but that in the east, people are tall, white and speak English.

The accusations of racism in Ecuador, which has a large native population, were so loud that Bolivia's vice-minister of culture, Maria Alvarez Plata, stepped in to explain why she thought journalists had misunderstood the young lady: "She expressed herself in English," Alvarez said.

Another with regrets was former juror Kwame Jackson, a finalist on "The Apprentice," in which she appeared with Trump. Jackson was removed from the jury for speaking with workers at the Marriott Hotel where the 80 beauty queens were staying.

Other members of the jury included actress Daisy Fuentes, Thom Allcock of Rolling Stone magazine, Hearst magazines editor Kristen Ingersoll and Billy Bush of "Access Hollywood," as well as Miss Universe 1998, Wendy Fitzwilliam.

Assigned to soothe the nerves of the contestants was yoga instructor Marco de la Cruz.

"My mission is to keep their courage up," he told El Universo de Guayaquil daily.

Source: Agencies