Twenty-one aspiring models have been short-listed to compete in the semi-final rounds of the Viet Nam's Next Top Model contest, organisers announced at a press conference on Thursday.

The contestants were chosen from an initial number of more than 1,000 young women between the ages of 18 and 25 who registered to participate in the second edition of the annual contest.

The jury panel comprised model Xuan Lan, make-up artist Nam Trung, photographer Pham Hoai Nam and fashion designer Do Manh Cuong.

The 21 contestants who now live together in a house for two months and will be trained for the coming rounds with cameras recording their interpersonal relationships.

Lan said during Thursday's press briefing that the contest aimed to identify a new generation of models in Viet Nam. She found many young women with the required attributes among the contestants.

More than 30 per cent of initial numbers who registered for the contest averaged a height of 1.75m and more than 50 per cent were students of universities in Viet Nam and foreign countries. Many overseas Vietnamese women registered to participate in the contest.

The contest winner will receive a contract with BeU Model Management worth VND1 billion (US$48,000), a trip to Singapore, a photo shoot for the Her World magazine and VND200 million ($9,000) in cash, a training course in Paris and other prizes.

The contest is the Vietnamese version of US reality television show America's Next Top Model aired by CBS Studios International.

The show will be broadcast live on Viet Nam Television's VTV3 channel at 8pm every Sunday, with the episode aired on September 25. The final night will be broadcast live on VTV3 on January 15, 2012.

The winner of the first edition of the contest in 2010, Khieu Thi Huyen Trang, was awarded the Best Asia prize at the Best Model of the World contest held in Bulgaria this July, while the runner-up, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, won the first prize at the Asian Model Search contest held in Singapore this April.

VNS