Johannesburg - Kseniya Sukhinova of Russia was crowned Saturday as Miss World 2008 in Johannesburg. The 21-year-old blonde beauty from the city of Tyumen emerged the winner among this year's 109 contestants in the 58th Miss World pageant.

Gabrielle Walcott, 23, the Miss Trinidad and Tobago, was runner-up, followed by 21-year-old Miss India, Parvathy Omanakuttan.

Organizers of this year's Miss World competition estimated that more than 2 billion viewers from over 180 countries watched the competition held in Johannesburg.

For the South African metropolis, staging the pageant - in place of the original venue of Kiev - was a chance for the city to show off its organisational capabilities, having only three months time to prepare for the event after the original site, Kiev, was dropped due to the Georgia conflict.

The Miss World pageant is the oldest of the various international beauty contests.