Forget Miss Universe. Well, not altogether. But what's the point of a beauty pageant, really? Shouldn't the women of the world be celebrated for who they are, even if they do happen to look damn fine in a bikini? That's what we thought, anyway, when Esquire.com sought out early in 2010 to find exactly what we found in Minka Kelly, this year's Sexiest Woman Alive, in 193 other women: something different, something beautiful, something that reveals a little bit more about who we are. Put it all together with a little help from the editors of Esquire's 17 international editions and, yeah, you've got some sashes, but also presidents, human-rights activists, models with legitimate hearts of gold, and this one incredible actress from India. Our list is highly subjective and far from scientific — feel free to find your country in the thumbnails below and suggest alternatives — but it's kinda like the United Nations: just useful enough to keep college kids studying it. And now, introducing our ambassadors...

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