Beijing, Jul 18 (IANS): Three winners of a beauty pageant in Chongqing, one of the largest cities in China, have failed to convince web users, who said the winners were "far below the public's aesthetic benchmark".

Internet users criticised the winners after their photos were posted on Twitter-like micro-blogging service Weibo, the China Daily reported Wednesday.

A Chongqing resident said if this was the "true level of beauty" for girls from his hometown, they would feel ashamed to claim Chongqing as their place of origin.

Some internet users speculated that there must be some "hidden rules" in the competition.

One judge of the pageant, who remained anonymous, admitted that they were under "outside pressure" and that the final results were not based on the judges' decisions.

Lan Rong, executive chairwoman of the organising committee, defended the event, and said the rules were fair and open, and that outward appearance was not the only criterion in the competition.

The "disappointing" results were also attributed to the inadequate participation by the public in the competition.

Lan said nearly 1,000 people registered for the event, but only 50 were selected for into the second round.

However, a judge said there were no more than 200 registered participants.