21 August 2004	Saturday	04 Rajab 1425

SINGAPORE, Aug 20: China's Vice Premier Wu Yi is the world's second most powerful woman, Forbes magazine said on Friday as it published a list that also included India's Sonia Gandhi , Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.

The Forbes list of the world's 100 most powerful women was topped by Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser of US President George W. Bush, according to a Forbes press statement released here.

Top Singapore businesswoman Ho Ching, the media-shy wife of newly installed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was a notable non-politician appearing in the list to be carried in the US magazine's September 6 issue.

Sonia Gandhi, the president of India's ruling Congress Party who wields immense influence behind the scenes after turning down the job of prime minister, came in third.

In fourth place was US First Lady Laura Bush, followed by Senator Hillary Clinton and US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Another US Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was in seventh place, trailed by Megawati (8), Arroyo (9) and Hewlett-Packard chair and chief executive Carly Fiorina (10).

Forbes said it came up with the list by devising a power scorecard. "For each candidate, we came up with a numerical weight defined by her title and resume, the size of the economic sphere in which she wields power... and the number of global media mentions," the magazine said.

Among the other Asia-Pacific women in the list are Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia (14), New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark (43), Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga (44) and Myanmar opposition leader and Nobel laureate Ang San Suu Kyi (45).

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was 21st on the list, while Britain's first lady, Cherie Blair, was number 12. Queen Rania of Jordan was in 13th place, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 22nd place and television host Barbara Walters was in 25th place. -AFP