Jiang Jing beat 29 other finalists from across China for her good bearing and excellent Internet knowledge. Zhong Hui from Shanghai and Yu Xiaonan from Hubei Province won the second and third prizes.

Participants had to answer a series of Internet related questions before they were eligible to enter the second round of the seven-hour marathon final. Over 80 percent of the participants had college degrees.

As Internet beauties, they were also asked to display their knowledge of fashion and art.

The nearly 10,000 participants were from all walks of life and included a policewoman, a teacher and a number of foreign company staff members. Most of them, however, are still students.

The winner of the contest is a postgraduate from the Communication Department of Tsinghua University. Since 1997, Jiang has spent much of her time surfing the Internet and believes the Internet can make people's lives better in the future. Her life is sure to improve following her triumph in the contest.

Most of the finalists from the first Internet Beauty Contest last year have fulfilled their dreams.

Chen Fanhong, winner of last year's contest, is now one of the best known names among China's more than 20 million netizens.

Having been given a chance to exhibit her vast Internet knowledge as well as her good looks in the Internet Beauty Contest, she became the first disabled person to win a beauty competition in China.

Li Yun, a runner-up in the first contest and a former teacher in Tianjin, now works for www.sina.com and helped broadcast this year's contest live on their website.

(China Daily 02/27/2001)