Venezuela's representative, 22-year old beauty queen Dayana Mendoza has been crowned as the new Miss Universe. The final stage of the beauty contest took place at Nha Trang a tourist resort in South Vietnam. Dayana Mendoza was crowned Miss Universe 2008 and follows Japanese Riyo Mori who received the honor in 2007. The competition this year hosted 80 participants from all over the world.

Competitors from Columbia and the Dominican Republic came second and third respectively this year.

Jerry Springer and former Spice Girl Melanie Brown hosted the show while the jury included Donald Trump jr, Roberto Cavalli, Nadine Velazquez, Jennifer Hawkins and John Nguyen.

The crowning:

Swim wear photoshoot: