Dayana Mendosa of Venezuela grabbed the Miss Universe 2008 crown yesterday night taking that country’s tally of the coveted crown to five. The 22-year old model won a prize package that included – cash, a year contract promoting Miss Universe, world travel, a rent-free, prestigious New York City flat, luxury apartment and a gift bag stuffed with free designer shoes, dresses and beauty products, a $ 100,000 stipend for a 2-year course at the New York Film Academy and free access to famous fashion houses and beauty parlors.

Miss India Simran Kaur Mundi sadly couldn’t make it to the last fifteen and will probably come back to a possible career in Bollywood.

Despite the hype about Indian women having made it in beauty contests – we’ve managed only 2 crowns (Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta) in fifty five years. The United States and Venezuela top the list of countries with 7 and 5 titles respectively.

Meanwhile, in a bizarre chain of events Miss USA slipped and fell in her evening gown – this was the second year in a row that a Miss USA faced this embarassment!

Checkout cool pictures of Dayana Mendosa – including some topless and nude from early modelling assignments – and the Miss USA slip video.

Dayana Mendosa Pics