Published:  20:52 Saturday - March 16, 2013

Young women in Viet Nam's 54 ethnic groups are invited to join the third Miss Ethnic Viet Nam pageant in June.

Contestants must be Vietnamese and high school graduates, aged from 18-28 years old.

The first selection will be held in HCM City at the beginning of May, followed by semi-finals in Hanoi and HCM City from May 9-19.

Forty contestants will be selected to join the final round in Hoi An from June 5-21.

The winner will receive a crown and VND70,000 million (US$3,300) in cash. The first and second runners-up will receive VND50,000 million and VND30,000 million respectively.

Other titles, such as Miss Friendship, Miss Traditional Costume and Miss Talent will also be conveyed during the contest.

The judges include director Nguyen Truong Son, historian Duong Trung Quoc, President of the Vietnamese Models' Association Tham Hoang Diep, Mrs World 2009 first runner up Hoang Thi Yen and the E De ethnic songwriter Linh Nga Nie KDam.

Miss Ethnic Viet Nam was first organised in Da Lat City in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong in 2007, then in HCM City in 2012. It gathers hundreds of young women from ethnic groups across the county.

This year, the pageant will be organised by the International Advertising and Trade Fair Company, which is presided over by Doan Thi Kim Hong.

Hong, who won Mrs Viet Nam in 2005, was recently granted the title "First Mrs World" by the Mrs World Organisation thanks to her significant contribution to the Mrs World pageant as well as promoting the image of successful Vietnamese women to the world.

VNS