Miss. Parvathy Omanakuttan of Kerala, India has won First Runner-up at the Miss World contest held on 13^th December 2008 at Johannesburg in South Africa. South Africa has hosted Miss World Contest for the sixth time. Contestants from 109 countries were screened and filtered  down to 15 semi-finalists. The following five contested in the final round:-

• India,
• Russia,
• Trinidad &Tobago,
• Angola,
• South Africa

The five finalists were asked "What quality they thought qualified them for the Miss World crown?”. Miss Russia replied seriously, “I want to help people, and if I win the crown I will be able to do it better.” The answer was from the heart, and won over the jury.

India's Miss Parvathy Omanakuttan, who had won the “Miss Femina” contest in April 2008 said: "In India and South Africa people are warm and warm-hearted. I felt at home in Johannesburg. Presence of two great leaders Mahatma Gandhi of India and Nelson Mandela of South Africa have influenced millions of people in both the countries."

The 21-year-old Parvathy, of Kottayam in Kerala, India, narrowly missed the title and could not join the following five Indian beauties who had won the “Miss World” title:-

• Reita Faria (1966),
• Aishwarya Rai (1994),
• Diana Hayden (1997),
• Yukta Mookhey (1999) and
• Priyanka Chopra (2000)