World to vote on nature's top wonders

Straits Times 8 Jan 09;

GENEVA: The Grand Canyon, Mount Everest and Loch Ness will vie with more than 200 other spectacular places in the next phase of the global competition for the New 7 Wonders of Nature, organisers said yesterday.Singapore's Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is one of the 261 nominees from 222 countries. These include some of the most famous mountain peaks, lakes and other attractions, such as the Great Barrier Reef, Niagara Falls and the Jeita Grotto cave in Lebanon.

Other attractions in Asia making the list are the Amah Rock of Hong Kong, Ha Long Bay of Vietnam and the Komodo National Park of Indonesia.

Each nominee needs to be officially supported to make it to the next stage of the campaign. Over a billion people are expected to vote via the Internet and nominate 77 semi-finalists for the top natural wonders, which will share in the glory already enjoyed by the seven man-made wonders chosen 18 months ago.

'We are calling on people all over the world to actively show their appreciation for our...natural world by joining together to celebrate the most extraordinary sites on our planet,' said Ms Tia Viering, a spokesman for the New 7 Wonders campaign.

Votes can be cast until July 7. Registration on the website prevents people from voting twice.

The quarter-finalists include some lesser known sites, such as Yasur Volcano on the island of Vanuatu and Nigeria's Zuma Rock.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Related links

Singapore's nature: one of the new 7 wonders of the world? on the wild shores of singapore blog.