Miss Thailand Universe Gawintra Phothijakra - who's now in Vietnam for a month's promotional activities ahead of the Miss Universe pageant - never in her life thought she'd be doing this.

"I was just a naughty little girl playing around, like any other country kid," she says. Her mother saw something else in her tall, beautiful daughter and coaxed her into trying for a tiara.

It wasn't easy - Gawintra doesn't think she's all that good-looking.

There was a trick to persuading her, though. Gawintra loves playing the computer golf game Pangya, and the Miss Thailand Universe pageant had a new computer among the prizes.

The other obstacle was overcoming the objections of her father, who's a naval officer, but he soon enough bowed to her wish.

So she entered the competition, and it was her self-confidence that won the day. Her victory, with a hefty cash reward, was a boon to the family, who had been struggling financially. Gawintra's brother had been hospitalised after a car accident and she'd been obliged to take a year off university.

Gawintra's biggest ambition is to build a seniors' residence where her parents could eventually stay, but for now, she's diving into the Miss Universe sweepstakes, and she has the confidence, she believes, to do well.

At a press conference in Bangkok, nervous reporters voiced concern that at least one of the evening gowns she'll be wearing in the competition is a little too revealing.

"The confidence is what comes first," she told them, displaying a good measure of hers. That's what wins the day, she said, not the costume.

XTRA

It all adds up

>> Age: 22

>> Measurements: 31-25-36

>> Height: 175 centimetres

>> Weight: 56 kilograms

>> Home province: Chon Buri

>> Education: She's in her second year at Bangkok University, studying communication arts with a major in public relations