Miss Universe 2008: A Bikini Pictorial Of Who's Who (PHOTOS)

***See Miss USA fall at the the Miss Universe competition***

PREVIOUSLY:
The 57th annual Miss Universe competition takes place in Nha Trang, Vietnam at the Crown Convention Center on July 14.

The beautiful contestants from around the world have already arrived, and posed for photos in the hotel pool in brightly colored bikinis this week.

Scroll down and see if you can guess who the winner of Miss Universe 2008 will be.

Elisa Najera, Miss Mexico 2008:

Natalia Anderle, Miss BRAZIL 2008:

Miss Vietnam 2008 Nguyen Thuy Lam:

Miss Australia 2008 Laura Dundovic, left, Miss Germany 2008 Madina Taher, Miss Philippines 2008 Jennifer Barrientos, right:

Story continues below

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Miss India 2008 Simran Kaur Mundi:

Miss Israel 2008 Shunit Faragi:

Miss Canada 2008 Samantha Tajik:

Miss Albania 2008 Matilda Mcini:

Miss China 2008 Ziya Wei:

Miss Kazakhstan 2008 Alfina Nassyrova:

Karol Castillo, Miss Peru 2008:

Laura Dundovic, Miss Australia 2008:

Miss Puerto Rico 2008 Ingrid Rivera Santos:

Eliska Buckova, Miss South Africa 2008:

Miss Costa Rica 2008 Maria Teresa Rodriguez:

Eliska Buckova, Miss Czech Republic 2008, left, and Alizee Poulicek, Miss Belgium 2008:

Maria Sten-Knudsen, Miss Denmark 2008:

Miss Ecuador 2008 Domenica Saporitti:

And her is Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart:

Comments

[Serfie]

Miss Israel and India are the hottest.

I'm surprised Miss Venezuela isn't up there. The Venezuelan chicks are usually the best.

Normally these international beauty pageant shows are more promoting the host country than anything else.

It is in Vietnam this year. It should be an interesting program. Vietnam is probably the most beautiful country in mainland Southeast Asia. Good food, good people.

[scornflakes]

Miss India's got me wanting to go to Sri Yanka, if you know what I mean ;)

[Lucille]

Ms. USA wore a bikini in the Ms. USA pagent, so why didn't they use that picture. Anyway go USA!

[PorkBelly]

Go Vietnam & Denmark.

[scornflakes]

The only thing that could make this story sexier would be a little Harriet Christian.

[joebiz]

There was a time when Soviet Bloc countries would not participate in the event because they deemed it as exploitation from the West based on capitalist ideals; and SELF-exploitation based on more humanist grounds.

Beauty pagents are, by-and-large methods to alienate and divide women for commercial reasons. Is there really such a thing as a "universal beauty"? My guess is that the only ones that really benefit from this dog-n-pony show, cattle call are the owners, organizers, and networks that display these global marionettes. If the only determinant for winning the contest, a contest based on DNA and genetic disposition, double helix, and other bio-chemical functions, then we should look to history for guidance. Wasn't the Third Reich partly based on fascist ideals postulated on genetics? Isn't 'perfection' or the search for the ideal based on a fascist philosophy?

Aesthetics and beauty are not a problem, just the display of a (fascisct?) ideal based on the commercial exploitation of 50 percent of humanity. By the way, should it be okay for contestant to have breast implants? Isn't that an unfair advantage based on a commercial application of saline/silicone? Either way, we should have Ms Iraq or Ms Afghanistan win just becasue they put up with conditions that most other countries have not.

[1099]

Take it easy. I'm sure you can find some other article on Huff PO where you can spout your talking points. The rest of us want to talk about the beautiful women.

[darthdarcy]

The I's have it Miss India and Miss Israel...hubba hubba...!

[scornflakes]

Yeah. Miss Israel has made me think that maybe Zionism isn't such a bad idea. *rrrrowrrrr*

[Andros]

This is not a reply to this specific comment. It's a reply to the story and pictures. Obviously, Miss America would be included. But why are there no black women listed? This is quite odd. Don't black women rate as beautiful?

[ErnestineBass]

Women don't get much more beautiful than Halle Berry. Period.

[JBS]

Miss America is a different pageant. Miss USA is part of the Miss Universe organization.

[Vantunow]

Miss Puerto Rico 2008 Ingrid Rivera Santos

YES WE CAN!

[damnadamson]

I despise this kind of meat market mentality and I for one am not voting or even watching this event, but if I did it would be miss Belgium .... grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

[johnnygoodwud]

i smell rubber burning

[terramartom]

Women, if men were not interested in you enitially for intimacy we would never get together ever! Only a small portion of all women on the planet get the attention of men and that is through their sexuality, and that is why women are so jealous of the beautiful ones. Women want to be seen as beautiful, yet 90% of them are not and this makes for some very angry women!

[NoSillyName]

I think they're lovely. Ah, to have the slender, youthful body of days gone by once again. The years can be unkind to us all.

[Kally]

Isn't it odd...all the good news items that we could find about women and they post something that should be in Playboy. And boy the other posters are correct....see all the fake boobs..They are so noticeable. Just like coulter's. They look like two powder puffs stuck under the skin.

[johnnygoodwud]

i think there should be a 'fake chest helmut' pagent. never been a big fan of fake

[ozmagic]

china, peru and denmark r the top picks

[SwingVoter]

I don't support objectification of women.

[NoSillyName]

They've put themselves into this position (or positions.)