BANGKOK (AFP) - In today's hyper-competitive international beauty pageants, beauty it seems is no longer enough.
 
Contenders for the crowns need training, and no one knows this more than the women of Latin America, where     Miss Universe is more than just a pageant -- it's an all-too serious contest the region expects to win year after year.

Miss Venezuela Monica Spear says her intense regimen of preparation could elevate her over rivals in the quest for the Miss Universe title to be awarded next week in the Thai capital.

With 27 of the 81 contestants hailing from South America, Central America and the Caribbean, the region is squarely placed to earn yet another crown -- to the delight of Latina fans.

"I think all the Latin girls have something, like, 'azucar' (sugar)!," said Guatemala's 19-year-old representative Aida Estrada, bursting into an impish smile during a beach party on the Thai resort island of Phuket.

"It's something, when we dance, the others dance. Latin power!" said Estrada, who was crowned Miss Guatemala on May 2, just days before she arrived in Thailand for the international competition.

That power is a palpable force in the pageant, which has been won by Latina or Caribbean contestants an impressive 19 times since the inaugural show in 1952, beginning with Miss Peru Gladys Zender in 1957.

Asia has won just seven times -- nine if New Zealand and last year's Australian victories are included.

This year's Latina battle involves the two heavyweights, Venezuela and the US territory of Puerto Rico. Each has won the tiara four times -- Puerto Rico three since 1993 -- and bookies around the world have laid top odds on one of them being crowned Miss Universe 2005.

"It's about national pride, it's so important," said Cynthia Olavarria who represents Puerto Rico, which grinds to a halt each year to watch the pageant.

Many countries crown their beauty queen a month or less before the Miss Universe pageant, as Guatemala did this year.

"But we are very prepared," the 23-year-old Olavarria said, explaining how she was nearly overwhelmed with modeling classes, English lessons, interview training and other pageant preparation.

Nothing, however, compares with the obsession of Venezuelans, who treat beauty pageants with the same reverence as neighbouring Brazilians view football's World Cup.

"Just as some train their good players for soccer or baseball, we do the same thing" for the pageants, explained Spear.

A mere 20 years old, Spear is among the most poised of contestants, and when she hits the catwalk, skips in the surf in a bikini or dons a glamorous gown -- essentially any time the cameras are rolling -- it's as if her eyes are on the prize.

"Our training is really hard, it focuses on inner and outer beauty, because we think beauty is a little bit of both," said Spear.

During a rigorous training schedule with a team of professionals, the former theatre student learned how to tone up her thighs, dance a tango or waltz, sing like a diva and toss a sultry pout at judges.

Inner confidence counts, she insisted. "There was a guy who just focuses on personal development and self esteem."

In Latin America, the pageant is not just big beauty, it's big business.

"It's their Super Bowl," said Tony Santomauro, vice president of business planning for Miss Universe, referring to the American football championship that is routinely the most widely-watched US sports event of the year.

"It's a very big revenue source for us," he told AFP, noting that the show is licensed to broadcasters in virtually every Latin American country, bringing in "many, many millions of dollars."

That counters signs that the taste for pageants is waning in the United States and Europe.

The 84-year-old     Miss America pageant, the rival to Miss USA, was dumped by US network ABC last year after a decade of steadily shrinking viewership.

NBC's Miss Universe had its weakest showing in three years in 2004, losing 13 percent of its TV audience, according to ratings tracker Nielsen Media Research.

Interest is wavering across the pond as well.

Europe has won 11 Miss Universe crowns, but none since 1990. Three of its winners were Swedes, but there is no repeat in the works this year.

The sponsor for Miss Sweden Universe was forced to scrap the competition after protests by feminists who declared it demeaning to women.

Europe is an underdog to wear this year's crown, if one goes by the odds set by major British online gaming websites. They predict an astonishing seven of the top 10 finishers will be Latinas.

For Miss Venezuela, the Latin success in the pageant is no great secret.

"We have a lot of beautiful women," she said.