Libya's first Miss Net World
Posted by scott

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi took time out to host Libya's first Miss World pageant. And while some might think that such a spectacle of sexual frivolity sits uncomfortably with the traditions of a Muslim country, feminists found an unlikely ally in the north African leader as the swimsuits were replaced by more modest attire. During the closing ceremony the girls wore dresses emblazoned with the leader's own picture.

Women from around the world gathered in the capital, Tripoli, as Libya hosted Miss Net World – a pageant where winners are selected by internet users. Ironically, given Britain's strained relations with Libya, the winner was a 20-year-old from the Home Counties – Lucy Layton, of Hertfordshire.

Ms Clayton, from Digswell, admitted to being perplexed by the venue when it was announced. "I was originally told it was going to be somewhere like Cannes but when they said Libya I was a bit concerned – you know, Colonel Gaddafi, like ouch." But she insisted she was very happy with the outcome after being crowned on Saturday night.

While the contenders from Australia and Thailand were kept away by more pressing engagements, the 23 contestants who turned up in Libya last week were treated to a tour of the country's beaches, desert and historic monuments. Colonel Gaddafi himself entertained the girls with his wit and tales of how his house was once bombed by the Americans. Pictures of him – girls on either arm – have been displayed on the website, www.missnetworld.tv.

Photographs on the site show the girls laughing with the Libyan leader. However, the American entrant, Tecca Zendik, 23, of Los Angeles, is described as crying as he relates details of how her nation bombed his home. US warplanes attacked the Colonel's house in 1986, killing his adopted daughter, after two American soldiers and a Turkish woman died when a Berlin disco was bombed.

The contest – most probably a campaign to promote tourism – had more important implications, insisted its founder, Omar Harfouch. Sanctions imposed in 1992 after the Lockerbie bombing may not have been fully lifted, but Mr Harfouch said the contest's slogan was "beauty will save the world".

Article: Independent

View Lucy Layton's: UrbanModels Portfolio

Avon goes after teens and young women
Posted by Nick

Avon, one of the largest sellers of beauty products direct to your door, is eager to reach 16 to 24 year old shoppers. Teenagers and young women currently mainly associate the Avon brand with their mothers.

The aim of Avon is to rebrand their product through launching a new line of cosmetics, with "hip" packaging and will be distictly more upscale than other teen focused brands. They plan to more distinctively split the current market into to, one aimed at 16-24 year olds, and the other at 25-55 years olds.

Avon also intends to recruit teen sales representatives to try and increase the appeal of their products to the younger generation. In the US alone, their are 16 million young women in the age range 16-24. Which is a potential market of up to $96 billion.

For the full story go directly to MSNBC News.

Miss Net World
Posted by Nick

Miss Net is the new, revolutionary beauty contest on the internet. No longer shall contestants be judged by a jury, but by anyone in the world who has internet access.

Each competing country selected their own beauty queen to be represented by. Who chose the beauty queens? The public did.

Representing the UK is a member on this site, Lucy Layton and today she set off to Libya, where the Miss Net World competition is being held this year. She was voted for by FHM readers earlier this year.

Please support Lucy and vote for her by clicking here.

This new innovative concept is a perfect illustration of how times are changing, everyone is into the internet.

Twiggy Returns
Posted by scott

SIXTIES icon Twiggy returned to the catwalk this season for the first time in thirty years. The 53-year-old mother-of-one bravely took the runway for Italian label Gattinoni, during Milan Fashion Week. But afterwards, she admitted that she had suffered an attack of nerves, when she saw the competition: a new generation of super-tall, slim models. "Next to these girls I'm very fat and pretty tiny," she told reporters backstage. "I was a baby last time I did this."

But designer Guillermo Mattiolo, who put his star performer in a cleavage-enhancing pale grey crumpled silk floor-length dress, insists that Twiggy still held her own and was an excellent role model for the new girls. "She was calming down the younger models and smoothing their hair," he says. "She told them to stay off drugs and think about their future and having a family."

Kate's Baby Girl
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KATE MOSS has given birth to a girl. The 28-year-old supermodel was rushed to the St John And Elizabeth Hospital this weekend, after having lunch with her boyfriend Jefferson Hack, and best pals Sadie Frost and Jude Law in a Greek restaurant. Her daughter was born in the early hours of Sunday morning. The baby girl, who is to be named Lola, weighed six-and-a-half pounds. Both Jefferson and Sadie, who delivered a baby (boy) of her own just over two weeks ago, were present at the birth. "It's simply a very joyous scene and mum and dad can't wait to get out of hospital so they can start playing happy families," a friend told Sky News. Kate is shortly expected to announce her engagement to Hack, after he was spotted looking at engagement rings in Garrards royal jewellers.