Online poll puts Chiara in 11th place

Chiara is cruising in 11th position in the race against the 42 countries competing in the Eurovision Song Contest, according to an online poll, while bookmaker William Hill is more optimistic and ranks her fifth.

The Europrediction 2009, featured on oikotimes.com, will run until the actual festival when it will make its final predictions for each semi-final, followed by a new poll for the final once the results of the semi-final are announced.

This poll allows all the Eurovision fans to vote but prohibits people from voting for their own country in a bid to establish a more realistic forecast.

The news should energise Chiara, who leaves for Moscow in two weeks' time to start rehearsing for her performance against 18 other countries on May 12.

Despite this, Chiara, renowned as the Queen of Ballads in Malta and abroad, is not featuring in the fans' clash of the two ballad titans - the UK's composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the French one by Patricia Kass - on the same website.

Meanwhile, renowned bookmaker William Hill is offering punters odds of 9/2 as the second favourite in the first semi-final, followed by odds of 20/1 - tying in fifth place with the UK - for the final.

Whichever way the balance tips, Chiara's charm and powerful voice has always impressed and she is taking things in her stride. At the moment she is focusing on last-minute promotions and over the weekend she visited The Netherlands and Belgium where she performed her song What If We.

Chiara leaves for Moscow on May 2. If she makes it through the first round, she will go on to compete in the final on May 16.