SUN CITY, South Africa, May 26, 2001/ --- One young woman's life turned into a fairy-tale-come-true at Sun City, South Africa's Superbowl Saturday night when Ramatoulaye Diallo of Dakar, was crowned the "Face of Africa 2001" at the "Glam Slam of Fashion" in the fourth annual search for the most beautiful African model.

Presented by M-Net and AngloGold, Ms. Diallo, wins a four-year $200,000 contract with Ford Models Inc., and will begin bringing African style and glamour to international fashion runways when she arrives in New York this August.

The radiant 5'11" and 20-year-old African Aphrodite was selected from twenty-four finalists from scouting expeditions in 31 countries across the African continent, including: Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The Face of Africa title was conferred by an elite panel of six international fashionistas -- Katie Ford, President of Ford Models Inc.; Deola Sagoe, fashion designer and winner of Africa Designs 2000; Khanyi Dhlomo-Mkhize, editor of South Africa's largest women's glossy magazine, "True Love"; designers Craig Native of South Africa and Guinea-born Abraham Pelham; and Rosemary Le Gallais of the French couturier house Daniel Swarovski.

In her moment of glory, the glowing Ms. Diallo proclaimed, "I am very honored to have the privilege of being the new Face of Africa. I will work very hard to represent my country, Senegal, and all the other countries and peoples of Africa to the world." One of eight children, Ms. Diallo is currently a transit officer in Dakar.

Of the competition's previous three winners, Oluchi (1998) has appeared in European issues of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire and Elle, and was the face of GAP Clothing in 1999; Benvinda Mundenge (1999) has graced the cover of Women's Wear Daily, among others; Nombulelo Mazibuko (2000) has already been featured in two top French fashion publications, Divas and Madame Figaro.

Presented by M-Net, Africa's largest television network, and AngloGold, the world's leading producer of gold, the Face of Africa 2001 final competition was broadcast live to approximately 40 million viewers throughout Africa and Europe. Collins Khumalo, M-Net's Director of Market Development in Africa, commented, "Now in its fourth year, Face of Africa continues to grow in stature and impact not only through the continent of Africa, but is also making itself heard globally. We are confident Ms. Diallo will take the majesty of Africa to the four corners of the world.