And 2008 Miss Universe is...

Ms. Japan's winning moment is still very fresh in my thoughts. It seems that it was just recently that Ms. USA slipped on stage and here comes another Ms. USA (is this a going trend among their candidates?) =)

Anyways, for those who missed the 2008 Miss Universe Pageant, Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza has been crowned as this year's Miss Universe. The runner ups are as follows:

1st runner-up: Taliana Vargas (Colombia)
2nd runner-up: Marianne Cruz (Dominican Republic)
3rd runner-up: Vera Krasova (Russia)
4th runner-up: Elisa Najera (Mexico)

Other Winners:

Best in Bikini - Queen of Vinpearl
Winner: Elisa Najera (Mexico)
Top 5 finalists: Taliana Vargas (Colombia), Simran Kaur (India), Claudia Moro (Spain), Crystle Stewart (USA).

Best in Áo dài (Vietnamese National Costume)
Winner: Dayana Mendoza (Venezuela)
Runner-ups: Simran Kaur (India), Nguy?n Thùy Lâm (Vietnam), Gavintra Photijak (Thailand), Alfina Nasyrova (Kazakhstan)

Ms. Congeniality - Ms. El Salvador

I also found a nice clip about Ms. Venezuela from YouTube.