By NNN-PTI
New Delhi : Always counted among the man-made marvels of the world by its admirers, the Taj Mahal today found pride of place in a new list of seven wonders polled by people around the globe.
The most photographed monument is accompanied by The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Statue of Christ Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Picchu in Peru, Pyramid of Chichen Itza in Mexico and the Roman Collosseum in the list announced at a gala ceremony in the Portuguese capital Lisbon to coincide with the date 07.07.07.
In a colourful ceremony amid songs and dance, Bollywood star Bipasha Basu announced Taj Mahal as one of the wonders. Agra Mayor Anjula Singh received the award.
Indians voted overwhelmingly in the polls cast by around 100 million people from across the world. The polling picked up drastically over the last one month, to see the "monument of love" through to the final seven.
The worldwide poll, in which people could vote for their favourite monument either on-line or through SMS, was conducted by the New 7 Wonders Foundation, a Swiss non-profit group.
The one-and-a-half-hour-long ceremony at Portugal's largest venue, the Estadio da Luz, saw award-presentation appearances by celebrities like Hillary Swank, Ben Kingsley, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neil Armstrong.
The celebrity-studded event also saw performances by Jennifer Lopez, Chaka Khan and Dulce Pontes.
The voting picked up last month and in the latter half of June, eight per cent of all votes came from India, which then further increased to 13 per cent.
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