Katrina Pavia is pleased she ranked third in the recent Miss Princess of the World competition - mainly because it means the Belarus and Ukraine representatives did not win, she admits.

They were supposedly the favourites, who had been in the limelight and showing off to the cameras throughout the two weeks in Prague, so her satisfaction at her success was based mainly on beating them and not on outdoing 38 contestants.

"I would have rather lost than watch them win," she declares, offering a glimpse of the intense behind-the-scenes rivalry of beauty contests.

They may have been a blonde and a redhead, but in reality, their hair colour was "fake", she points out.

The Miss Princess competition, the junior version of Miss World, caters for 16- to 23-year-olds.

The 20-year-old was also surprised that the winner was a contestant from Nicaragua, who kept to herself. But she goes on to note that half the jury was black.

Katrina's competitive spirit seems fierce but she claims she always treats her participation in these contests as a mere holiday - albeit a tiring one.

"I would never have visited the Czech Republic had it not been for this," she says, being more attracted to the US and Miami.

At it since the age of 15, and scooping practically every local award, her latest trip to Prague has left her drained and not overly enthusiastic. But she has no plans to stop competing.

"It is tiring and can get boring. You get up at 5.30 a.m. every morning," she says, complaining of the tight schedule and constant group photos throughout the day.

The plus is that you get to make new friends - though it is doubtful whether Miss Belarus and Miss Ukraine fell into that category.

At least, Katrina ended up with $1,000 in her pocket, which she plans to spend on "shopping".

It's not clear, however, whether she enjoys that because she later says another downside of beauty contests is having to buy the dresses.

"You need a sponsor, and at the moment, it is my mother!"

Of her six international contests, Katrina ranked second in the Miss Bikini competition in Turkey, losing by "one point because the jury wanted a blonde".

Again, she was "fake - you can tell from the eyebrows", she observes.

So how beautiful does Katrina think she is on a scale of one to 10? That is a tricky question as she actually has a low self-esteem. Eventually, she gives herself a six.

"Just because you win, it doesn't mean you are the most beautiful girl in the world." Falling into the contest clichés, she says "everyone wants to be the most beautiful, but beauty fades and it isn't everything."

So what is? After a lengthy pause, Katrina says: "That's a nice question!"