Vietnam\'s Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan has won the Asian Model Search in Singapore, beating 100 other top models around Asia to the crown.

Vietnam\'s Next Top Model runner-up Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan won the Asian Model Search in Singapore

In the second edition of the pageant which ended more than a month ago, she defeated 14 other finalists, including five from Singapore.

Interestingly, the jury made its choice during the pageant but kept it secret, giving audiences time to vote for their choices. The final result was based 70 percent on the jury\'s choice and 30 percent on the public\'s.

Lan also received a cash prize USD10,000 (USD8,100) at a ceremony held at Singapore\'s Shaw Theatres Lido on Friday and was promised modelling contracts by leading Singaporean agencies.

The contest attracted models from China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries and territories.

Lan, who had finished second in Vietnam\'s Next Top Model Contest, was the only Vietnamese contestant.

"She deserves the award," Sng Ngoi May, chairman of the 2011 Asian Search Model, said, adding she plans to promote Lan in Singapore and other Asian countries.

Lan said she donated part of her prize money to victims of the Japanese quake and tsunami last March and to children with disabilities in Ho Chi Minh City.

She took the confidence she had acquired from the Vietnam\'s Next Top Model contest to do well in the international arena, she revealed.

"The win opens great opportunities for me since Singapore is one of the high-end markets in the region," Lan told the awards ceremony.

Le Thi Quynh Trang, chief executive officer of Multimedia JSC which organises the Vietnam\'s Next Top Model pageant, said the country has few models who can strut their stuff on international catwalks.

"We will continue to promote Vietnamese models internationally," she said, adding that Lan needs to improve her English before starting an international modelling career.