Beauty queens from across the globe arrived in the Polish capital Warsaw Friday for a month of pageantry ahead of the Miss World 2006 final on September 30. A total 106 beauties will compete for the crown in the 56th annual Miss World contest.

Before the finale, the contestants will spend the month touring several Polish cities and popular tourist attractions.

Stops include the Baltic Sea ports of Gdansk and Gdynia, the Teutonic Knight Castle in Malbork, the Mazurian Lake district, Krakow and the nearby historic Wieliczka salt mine museum as well as Wroclaw and the capital Warsaw.

The Polish Tourism Organisation (POT), the City of Warsaw, the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) and the London-based Miss World Limited company are co-organising the pageant which has failed to draw generous corporate sponsorship.

Since 2003 the Miss World contest was in the Chinese city of Sanya in December. Pageants were previously hosted by South Africa and Britain.

Miss Iceland contestant Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir won the 2005 Miss World title.

Viewers across the globe were able to cast votes via an individual number for worldwide SMS's.

Points were then awarded according to rules which ensured that votes from all countries equated, regardless of the size of population, according to the Miss World website.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur