Amidst the hoopla surrounding the upcoming Miss Universe contest in Vietnam, the organizers are busy selecting judges for the beauty pageant behind the scenes. Infact the judges for the preliminary night of this year's Miss Universe competition have already been named. The judges’ panel will have three Vietnamese people and they will pick out just 15 out of the 80 participating contestants on Tuesday, July 8.

Thanh Nien newspaper's editor Nguyen Cong Khe, Miss Universe 2008 crown designer Rosalina Tran Lydster and Fashion expert Thuy Tran are the three people who will be representing host country Vietnam on the judges’ panel. Among other prominent names which feature on the panel of judges for the 2008 Miss Universe Contest includes that of PR aficionado Dave Tomberlin, NBC's vice chairman Dean McFliker, designer Fred Howard and hair artist Adel Chabbi.

Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza is being touted as the one most eligible for the crown. Among those giving Dayana Mendoza a good competition includes Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Panama, Miss USA and Miss Colombia. The odds makers are highly bidding in favor of all these contestants at the Bookmaker.com as they hold good chance of winning this year’s pageant. Riyo Mori, outgoing titleholder, will crown her successor on 14 July at the Crown Convention Center (Diamond Bay Resort) in Nha Trang, Vietnam.