Miss Venezuela was on Monday crowned Miss Universe 2008 in a contest marked by the spectacle of Miss USA falling down during the evening gown competition for the second year in a row.

An elated Dayana Mendoza received the crown from her predecessor, Riyo Mori of Japan, and then prepared to meet a gaggle of reporters. Miss Venezuela, 22, was once kidnapped in her homeland and says the experience taught her to remain poised under pressure. Tension got under the skin of Crystle Steward of Texas, the second Miss USA in a row to fall down during the Miss Universe pageant. She tripped on the train of her bejewelled evening gown as she made her entrance.

During the 2007 Miss Universe contest in Mexico City, Miss USA Rachel Smith also tumbled during the evening gown competition and became an unintended star on You Tube, where the video was shown over and over again.

Like Smith, Stewart quickly stood up after her fall and continued on as if nothing had happened. Stewart, 26, is a motivational speaker and former track and filed star who is working on a book called Waiting to Win.

Her mishap occurred just after the judges had narrowed the field of 80 to the final 10: Miss USA, Miss Kosovo, Miss Australia, Miss Spain, Miss Mexico, Miss Colombia, Miss USA, Miss Dominican Republic, Miss Russia, Miss Italy and Miss Venezuela.

The NBC show was hosted by talk show star Jerry Springer and Spice Girl Melanie Brown and broadcast live to hundreds of millions of viewers in 170 countries. Eighty contestants gathered in the seaside city of Nha Trang, Vietnam, vying to succeed reigning Miss Universe Riyo Mori of Japan.

With high heels and higher hopes, dashing smiles and a battery of hairspray cans, 80 beautiful women faced crunch time as Vietnam hosted the Miss Universe pageant.

The 57th edition of the global beauty contest kicked off in the southern seaside resort of Nha Trang, the first time it has been held in a communist country.

The 15 semi-finalists with a shot at the $120,000 diamond-studded gold crown was to be announced part-way through the show, before judges further slash their numbers in the swimsuit and evening gown sections.

The final interviews with five contestants determined who’d succeed Japan’s Riyo Mori as the new Miss Universe.