Miss Gibraltar takes home Miss World 2009 crown

Gibraltar's Kaiane Aldorino won the 2009 Miss World crown at a glittering ceremony in Johannesburg on Saturday, defeating 111 contestants from across the world but Miss India Pooja Chopra disappointed by failing to make it to the final round.

An HR Clerk by profession, the 22-year old blonde brought her country the Miss World title for the first time.

Miss Mexico Perla Beltran finished second, while South Africa's Tatum Keshwar took the third place.

Former Miss World and Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra was one of the judges in the contest whose final round saw a close contest between seven beauty queens.

Aldorino was crowned by Kseniasukhi Nova, the Miss World 2008, of Russia

Miss India Pooja Chopra, who participated in the contest, nursing an injured ankle, made it to the semi-final along with 15 other contestants but was eliminated in the penultimate round.

Chopra earlier won the 'beauty with a purpose' title for supporting the save the girl-child initiative back home.

The last time India won the title was in 2000 when Priyanka Chopra brought home the crown.

India has produced five Miss Worlds with Reita Faria winning the title in 1966, followed by Aishwarya Rai in 1994, Diana Hayden in 1997 and Yukta Mookhey 1999, apart from Chopra.

Held in Johannesburg for a second consecutive year, the pageant opened with African drums and traditional dancers as the 112 contestants were introduced on stage with children carrying flags representing all the representing nations.

It was the 59th staging of the Miss World contest and this year saw the largest number of contestants entering the fray.