The maiden virtual beauty queen of Sri Lanka was crowned today following what is largely considered a pioneering digital revolution in beauty pageants and probably a global first for any beauty pageant. Seri Miss Sri Lanka Online successfully concluded its grand finale crowning Maria Alkansas as the winner of the much coveted Seri Miss Sri Lanka Online 2012 title.

The event was streamed live to a global audience that logged in to witness the glitz and glamour of a virtual pageant that matches and surpasses similar contests on a global scale. Having arrived at landmark accomplishments early on, the pageant earned a mass breakout of attention when its Facebook fan page was recognized to be the fastest growing Facebook page in the country during the course of the competition.

In addition to the overwhelming success, the competition also created a viral effect when local celebrities and established institutions sharing in the interest and enthusiasm on their personal blogs, fan pages and websites. Seri Miss Sri Lanka Online in addition to having revolutionized the way beauty pageants are gone about in Sri Lanka also demonstrated the immense potential our country holds to grow and transform in the IT and ICT sectors.

The much awaited finale of the pageant was streamed live from the Park Street Mews, where a panel of celebrated judges inclusive of local and international personalities passed their verdict of the contestants online. The panel of judges composed of award winning Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi, celebrated Bollywood and Kollywood actress Sameera Reddy, Australia’s got talent winner 2012  Andrew De Silva, celebrated actress and former Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World Yureni Noshika, Brand Directress for Seri Naturals Shayana Raat, COO of Seri Naturals Malik Perera, Director and Founder of Colombo Fashion Week Ajay Singh, Celebrity hairstylist and founder of Chagall Gerald Solomons, Celebrity hairstylist and founder of Capello Salons Romesh Atapattu.

While Maria Alkansas was crowned the winner of Seri Miss Sri Lanka Online 2012, Angela Richards was crowned first runner up while Karandza Fernando took the second runner up spot. In addition to the titles, additional mini pageants were also worked out and included Miss. Popularity, voted for by the public and won by Udari Kaushalya and Miss Photogenic won by Bidur Salem. Titles for best hair and best skin were won by Karandza Fernando and Angela Richards respectively.

The finale commenced with the beauties walking in to the sound of Azlan Sheriff’s brand new track ‘Heaven’ which was unveiled to the Sri Lankan public for the first time.

Seri Miss Sri Lanka Online throughout the course of the competition maintained a truly international standard of proceedings, bringing onboard a host of partnering brands who each added value through proficiency in their area of expertise. Special mention needs be paid to the main partnering brands; Telecommunication and Broadband partner Mobitel, Banking partner Seylan Bank, Beauty partner Chagall, Footwear partner Kaki, Radio partners Kiss FM, Vettri FM and Siyatha FM, Jewellery partner Stone n’ String, Airline partner Sri Lankan Airlines, Fitness partner Body Bar, Video partner Dimension X, Venue partner Park Street Mews, Event partner Event Productions, Glamour Clothing partner Melache, Casual Clothing partner Abstract, Floral partner Lassana Flora, Technology Partner Triad Digital, Photography partner Jehan Photography, wellness partner pH Care by George Steuart Health and Digital Retoucher Shadow Illusionist.