Well well UNESCO is not happy over this list.
[h1] UNESCO slams seven 'new' wonders of the world list[/h1]
The UN body for culture on Sunday blasted a private initiative that drew nearly 100 million Internet and telephone voters to choose seven "new" wonders of the world.[/p] "This campaign responds to other criteria and objectives than that of UNESCO in the field of heritage," said Sue Williams, the spokeswoman for UNESCO, the UN cultural body that designates world heritage sites.[/p] "We have a much broader vision," she told AFP.[/p] Voters chose the Great Wall of China; India's Taj Mahal; the centuries-old pink ruins of Petra in Jordan; the Colosseum in Rome; the statue of Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro; the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru; and the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico.[/p] British actor Ben Kingsley and US actress Hillary Swank hosted a ceremony at Lisbon's Stadium of Light, broadcast in more than 170 countries to an estimated 1.6 billion viewers.[/p] A private Swiss foundation launched the contest in January, allowing voters to choose from 21 sites short-listed out of 77. It said it had gathered nearly 100 million votes by the end of polling at midnight Friday.[/p] According to its backers, the campaign aimed to update the original list of seven world wonders, drawn up in around 200 BC, of which only the pyramids of Giza remain today.[/p] Short-listed sites that missed the final cut included the Acropolis in Athens; Paris' Eiffel Tower; the Easter Island statues; Britain's Stonehenge; Cambodia's Angkor Wat temples; New York's Statue of Liberty; and the Alhambra in Spain.[/p] Christian Manhart, UNESCO's press officer, criticised the ballot, saying it sent out a "negative message to countries whose sites have not been retained."[/p] "All of these wonders obviously deserve a place on the list, but what disturbs us is that the list is limited to just seven," he said, pointing out that "seven were adequate in Antiquity because the Antique world was much smaller than today," only comprising the area surrounding the Mediterranean.[/p][a href="vny!://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070708/wl_mideast_afp/worldculture_070708192933"]vny!://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070708/wl_mideast_afp/worldculture_070708192933[/a]
