orana Relic (lying in foreground), Sahara Desert, Libya, Oct. 27, 2002

''Actually, I heard about this pageant in Libya a few days before I had to go. It was called Miss@Net World. It was a bit unusual; everybody could vote for the winner through the Internet. I'm from Croatia, but I live in Dublin. My agency sent my pictures to the pageant's organizers. It was quite a surprise when they told me I was going to Libya. There were 25 girls from 25 countries. I didn't expect much; there are a lot of pretty girls.

''We met Qaddafi. He invited us to his tent near his house. He is a controversial figure, but I think he wanted to show that his country is not that closed to other nations. I don't want to mess too much in politics, but I think it was a nice thing for him to do.

''Before the competition, we went by private jet to the desert. Then we ended up at an oasis. The women behind me in the picture were singing and performing some Libyan music, I think, something very authentic. They didn't seem shocked or surprised by what I was wearing. They're used to tourists in the desert.

''There weren't any swimsuits in the pageant. We didn't even get to wear something revealing. The first part of the show they gave us traditional Libyan dresses; they were very long and three sizes too big. In the second part, we were wearing military outfits: combat trousers and T-shirts with Qaddafi's picture. I didn't like my outfit, but the choreography was nice. I didn't win. I wasn't even one of the 10 in the finals. But they wore black cocktail dresses.''