Taj Mahal is tenth on the new seven wonders of the world list

11 June, 2007:

The Taj Mahal is still in the running to find a place in the seven new wonders of the world. New data released by the organisers of the competition shows India's Taj Mahal at the tenth place with the Acropolis in Athens and Mexico's Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza as frontrunners. The winners of the competition, which ends in early July 2007, will be chosen via an online and phone vote, the organisers of the new 7 wonders of the world said.

Almost 50 million people are said to have participated in the competition so far, but as voting is on for almost another monththe result is expected to be wide open.

The new seven wonders of the world will be announced on July 7 in Lisbon. Tia Viering, a spokeswoman for the organisation, said "There are some really creative, phenomenal things going on in the last four weeks that will influence the final result." Many countries are carrying out several programs to encourage their country men to vote for their wonder.

AR Rahman, the Indian musician, has started such a compaign by dedicating a special song for the Taj Mahal to urge fellow Indians to vote for the Taj Mahal, a monument which was built by the late Indian ruler Shah Jahan in memory of his love Mumtaz.

The Brazilian team has also come forward urging Brazilians to vote for Christ Redeemer, the statue that adorns Rio de Janeiro's skyline.

Out of the data released by the organisation which chooses the new seven wonders of the world, the new ten wonders of the world include the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, Peru's Machu Picchu, Petra in Jordan, and the statues of Easter Island.

The organisation has not divulged the number of votes it has received for each wonder, as the organisation thinks it could affect the final outcome of the vote. The organisation, New Seven Wonders, which runs the poll was established by Swiss/Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber and this vote is expected to be the one with the highest participation so far.