You can vote on the new 7 wonders of the world!

A global competition to name the new wonders of the world is attracting widespread interest, with more than 20 million people voting so far, organizers say.

The Egyptian pyramids are the only surviving structures from the original list of seven architectural marvels. Long gone are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria. Those seven were deemed wonders in ancient times by observers of the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Candidates for the new list have been narrowed down to 21, including the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Taj Mahal and Peru's Machu Picchu.

The public can vote until July 6, 2007, by Internet or phone. The seven winners will be announced July 7 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Choosing world wonders has been a continuing fascination over the centuries. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, keeps updating its list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 830 places.

The "New Seven Wonders of the World" campaign was begun in 1999 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, with almost 200 nominations coming in from around the world.

Weber "felt it is time for something new to bring the world together" and to "symbolize a common pride in the global cultural heritage," said Tia B. Viering, spokeswoman for the campaign.

Weber's Switzerland-based foundation aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments.

It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.

Nominations were whittled down by public votes to 77 last year. Then a panel of architectural experts, chaired by former UNESCO chief Federico Mayor, shortened the list to 21.

Interest has grown as Weber and his 10-member team visit the 21 sites.

Their final visit will be March 6 to New York's Statue of Liberty.

In addition to the Statue of Liberty, pyramids, Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu, the finalists are the Acropolis; Turkey's Haghia Sophia; the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral; the Colosseum; Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle; Stonehenge; Spain's Alhambra; the Great Wall; Japan's Kiyomizu Temple; the Sydney Opera House; Cambodia's Angkor; Timbuktu; Petra, Jordan; Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer; Easter Island; and Chichen Itza, Mexico.

To vote, go to www.new7wonders.com.

The site also has information on voting by phone.

21 WONDER-FUL CANDIDATES

The public may vote on the New 7 Wonders of the World at www.new7wonders.com:

Acropolis, Greece: The marble temples and statues of Greek gods and goddesses date from the fifth century BC.

Alhambra, Spain: The palace and citadel, perched above Granada, was the residence of the Moorish caliphs who governed southern Spain until 1492.

Angkor, Cambodia: The archeological site in Siem Reap was the capital of the Khmer (Cambodian) empire from the ninth to 15th centuries.

Christ Redeemer Statue, Brazil: The 38-metre statue overlooks Rio de Janeiro from atop Mount Corcovado. It was inaugurated in 1931.

Colosseum, Italy: The 50,000-seat amphitheatre in Rome was inaugurated in AD 80. Thousands of gladiators duelled to the death here, and Christians were fed to the lions.

Easter Island, Chile: Hundreds of massive stone busts, or Moais, are all that remains from the prehistoric Rapanui culture that crafted them between 400 and 1,000 years ago to represent deceased ancestors.

Eiffel Tower, France: The 300-metre tower, built in 1889 for the International Exposition, symbolizes Paris. Made almost entirely of open-lattice wrought iron and erected in only two years with a small labour force, the tower -- Paris's tallest structure -- demonstrated advances in construction techniques, but some initially criticized it as unesthetic.

Great Wall of China: The 6,700-kilometre barricade running from east to west is the world's longest man-made structure. The fortification was built to protect various dynasties from invasion by Huns, Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes. Construction began in the seventh century BC.

Hagia Sophia, Turkey: The soaring cathedral, also called the Church of Holy Wisdom, was built in 537 BC at Constantinople, today's Istanbul.

Kiyomizu Temple, Japan: Kyoto's Kiyomizu-dera was founded by a Buddhist sect in 798 and rebuilt in 1633 after a fire.

Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral, Russia: Onion domes with golden cupolas surrounded by red brick walls are at the heart of Moscow's Kremlin, a medieval fortress converted into the centre of Russian government.

Machu Picchu, Peru: Built by the Incan Empire in the 15th century, Machu Picchu's walls, palaces, temples and dwellings are perched in the clouds at 2,400 metres above sea level in the Andes,

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany: Neuschwanstein is a creation of "Mad King" Ludwig II of Bavaria, who had it built in the 19th century to indulge his romantic fancies.

Petra, Jordan: This ancient city in southwestern Jordan was the capital of the Arab kingdom of the Nabateans. The city is famous for water tunnels and stone structures carved in the rock.

Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico: This step pyramid surmounted by a temple was part of a sacred site in an important Mayan centre on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

Pyramids of Giza, Egypt: The only surviving structures of the original seven wonders, the three pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs 4,500 years ago.

Statue of Liberty, New York: The 93-metre statue was a gift of the French government in 1886.

Stonehenge, Britain: This circular monument of massive rocks was created between 3,000 and 1,600 BC.

Sydney Opera House, Australia: Situated on Sydney's harbour, the opera house was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon.

Taj Mahal, India: The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra was built by a 17th-century Mogul emperor for his favourite wife, who died in childbirth.

Timbuktu, Mali: Two of West Africa's oldest mosques, the Djingareyber, or Great Mosque, and the Sankore mosque built during the 14th and early 15th centuries, can still be seen here in the northern Sahara Desert. Founded about AD 1,100, Timbuktu was a caravan centre in the Arabic world and later a leading spiritual and intellectual centre.

(prepared by Eliane Engeler and Alexander G. Higgins, Associated Press/Vancouver Sun)