If looks could kill: Vu Hoang My is full of hope to make a big impact at the Miss World 2012 pageant. — Photo courtesy Elite Viet Nam

HA NOI — Miss Viet Nam 2010 runner-up Vu Hoang My begins the first round of Miss World 2012 in China this month.

The pageant, from July 20 to August 18, will be held in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sanya and Ordos.

My said she would participating in seven categories – Top Fitness/Sport, Miss Talent, Miss Dance of the World, Beauty with a Purpose, Beach Beauty, Miss World Fashion and Miss World Website Presentation.

My said she spent two hours a day practising gymnastics, swimming and mixed martial arts.

Meanwhile, singer Thao Trang is helping My prepare for the Miss Talent event, where she will sing I've Never Been to Me by Kenneth William Hirsch and Ron Miller, while playing the piano.

My, 24, will also perform a traditional dance with a magic crossbow for the Miss Dance of the World competition.

My said she felt confident participating in the Miss World Website Presentation because she was a student of multimedia design at RMIT International University in HCM City. This was a new category in the pageant, she said. Contestants would have their own pages on Missworld.com where they would provide their audiences with information, videos and images.

The subordinate category of Miss World, "Beauty with a Purpose", was created 30 years ago to help make the Miss World crown a symbol for fundraising, inviting contestants to help aid projects in their own countries.

"Many of our contestants are so motivated by Beauty with a Purpose that they create their own activities to improve the lives of others," Julia Morley, chief executive of the Miss World Organisation, said. "We don't require this but wherever possible we try and support them with practical help.

"I have always had a hands-on approach to fundraising projects, whether it be housing homeless families across Viet Nam or the health missions to Haiti. I have always strived for a better quality of life for sick and disadvantaged children," Morley said.

My said that for the Miss World Website Presentation category she would present a video of her charity works, including a marathon in which she participated to raise funds for children from underprivileged families.

My said she had also prepared many souvenirs for charity works and books on Viet Nam to donate to the Miss World library.

"I will try my best to popularise an image of Vietnamese women," My said. "I will exert myself in subordinate contests that help me enter the top 10 or top 15 of the Miss World pageant."

My represented Viet Nam at Miss Universe 2011 in Brazil but failed to make it into the final round. However, pundits have said she is the most outstanding Vietnamese contestant at the moment, particularly as she is fluent in English and has a number of years' experience competing in beauty contests.

My received a letter of invitation from the Miss World Organisation. Elite Viet Nam company, which is entitled to send contestants to beauty queen competitions, received approval from the ministry of culture. — VNS