MANILA, Philippines - Most girls dream of being described as the most beautiful in the world. For some, joining a beauty pageant is an opportunity to achieve that.

But in today's politically correct world, beauty pageants have evolved from a simple parade of pulchritude into a complicated formula that combines good looks with a fair amount of talent, educational attainment, family background, social graces, poise, confidence and personality.

And as most beauty scouts and talent managers know, a lot of preparation is needed if that rough stone is to be polished into a precious gem. Everything from the evening gown to the swimsuit, shoes and accessories, hair style and catwalk glide must be planned with precision. What color best compliments the candidate's hair and skin color? How much skin should one show to catch attention without coming across as too uninhibited? Some savvy managers even hire a pageant coach to deal with the intricacies of what defines today's beauty queen, what the judges are looking for, and how best to capture that elusive X factor.

Next to Thailand and India, the Philippines is considered one of several Asian countries that take beauty pageants seriously. After all, we've had our fair share of winners in several international beauty tilts. The '70s were a especially productive era, with Filipino beauty queens harvesting several titles and posing a serious threat to other candidates. While our beauty titles have tapered off considerably in recent years, two Filipinas still managed to land the top five in international beauty pageans: Miss International Lara Quigaman and Miss Universe runner-up Miriam Quiambao.

But the road to an international beauty title is seldom smooth. In fact, it is paved with noble intentions that can only be achieved with a lot of hard work. Right after they're crowned, national beauty queens have to undergo a rigorous training routine that includes six major steps meant to polish them into international beauty pageant material. The six steps are:

1. Physical training and strict diet supervision

The gym easily becomes second home to beauty queens when they start their physical training. They are evaluated as to which areas of their body need to be worked on to achieve the right curves and proportion. They are asked to do physical strength training and cardiovascular exercises to improve their endurance. (Some major pageants, like Miss World, have sports events and competitions where winners automatically belong to the semi-finals circle). Also considered a must are dance classes like Latin and belly dancing to improve the women's grace and projection, as well as Yoga and Pilates classes for them to achieve that lean and sculpted look, including a well toned midsection. The physical training keeps the beauty queens in tip top shape to prepare them for the international pageant.

Gold's Gym's resident nutritionist and dietitian Cristy Marasigan also plays an active role in the training of beauty queens. She supervises their food intake and keeps them on a 1600 calories/day low carb-high protein diet.

2. Personality development

Looks count, but so does personality. Which is why Dale Carnegie has been enlisted to give local beauty queens some tips on achieving a more pleasing personality. In this particular case, personality development has been defined as arming the girls with a positive attitude under different circumstances, and giving them an overview on Human Relations or how to deal with people from all walks of life. Developing their self-confidence to help them express themselves is another facet of this training, very crucial indeed during the international pageant's interview portion when sincerity, honesty and spontaneity count as much as one's answer.

3. The Art of Walking

The right kind of walk and catwalk skills have become a requirement in beauty pageants for which contestants are trained rigorously. There are specific kinds of walks in every segment of the competition. The swimsuit portion requires a fast and sassy walk like a strut, while an evening gown walk means a slow and confident stroll. For this training, past winners of the Bb. Pilipinas Pageant, among them Karen Agustin, coach the girls. Agustin learned most of her walking skills during her training in Colombia. Training the girls to walk enhances their natural glide and the synchronicity of the body flow, while still main-taining their sexy aura and overall beauty queen appeal. There are also specific leg exercises that the women learn to improve their endurance in maintaining their poise and stance onstage.

4. Make-up and hairstyle

Beauty contestants are usually alone when they travel to their respective pageant countries, so enhancing their looks depends a lot on their individual make-up and hairstyling skills. David's Salon has been enlisted to give this year's Bb. Pilipinas winners enough training on the right colors of lipstick, the right length of eyelashes, the correct amount of foundation to apply, and so on. The bottom line is for the girls to be able to doll themselves up during the different events in the international competition.

5. Wardrobe Fitting

This takes a lot of time, recounts previous beauty queens who talk of the long endless search for the right outfits that would compliment their figure and over-all appearance. A dress with a perfect fit can hide imperfections, while a sloppy fit adds unflattering inches.

6. Language Training

While no one expects a beauty queen to be a polyglot conversant in several languages, it doesn't hurt for her to understand the locals in the host country. For this training, Berlitz Language School is providing the beauty queens comprehensive language classes. Speaking the host country's native tongue helps, recalls Ana Theresa Licaros, last year's Bb. Pilipinas-Universe. When the Mexicans heard her speaking Spanish, they were so impressed that they made sure to applaud her well during her stage appearances.

The current Bb. Pilipinas-World Janina San Miguel is getting lessons in English and Russian, since her pageant will be in Ukraine. Bb. Pilipinas-International Patricia Francisco's pageant is being held in Japan and China, for which she is getting both Niponggo and Chinese lessons. For Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Jennifer Barrientos whose pageant is in Vietnam, a home study program has been put in place.

Training for an international beauty title isn't that easy. Ask the contestants themselves who must cope with this rigorous training on top of coping with the stress and pressure that comes from people's expectations.

For Francisco, the hardest part is the strength training. She has never been athletic, she says, and has never worked out in her life, but for a chance to win an international title, she's willing to put her all into it. San Miguel takes a different tack. No need to train a lot, she says, because for her, ?the training comes naturally.?

However different their attitude, these beauty queens know that they share one common goal: to win another glorious moment for their country.