A total of 108 Chinese and foreign journalists have been invited to cover the 53rd Miss World competition, which is to be held in Sanya City, Hainan Province, from Dec. 6 to 8.

An information center is being built to accommodate the media, said a spokesman for the pageant organizers.

In addition to China's media giants like Xinhua, People's Daily and CCTV, foreign media, such as the BBC and NHK, were also invited.

It is the first such event to be held in China and a new step in China's opening to the outside world. In the late 1980s, a number of beauty contests were held in some areas and a failed attempt was made to organize a national pageant in 1988. 

(People's Daily   October 23, 2003)