Dutch model Angela Visser, on her first day as 1989 Miss Universe, said Wednesday she hopes to use her position to encourage other women to believe in themselves and "reach their goals."
The green-eyed, blond-haired Visser, 22, who Tuesday became the first Dutch woman to win the title, said she has set clear goals she hopes to acheive during her one-year reign - although she admitted her accomplishment had not yet begun to sink in."There was a strange feeling this morning, because it was not like other mornings," Visser said by telephone from Cancun, the Caribbean resort where the pageant was held. "I didn't know what I was going to do. You really don't know how much your life is going to change.
"Winning is still so fresh and so new. I think it will take a few months to truly appreciate being Miss Universe," she said.
Visser, who won the Miss Universe crown over 75 other contestants, said she had spoken with reporters from in her native Holland "and they are all very happy for me. There will be a great welcoming celebration when I get home."
The 5-foot-9 model from Rotterdam said her main goal for the next 12 months will be "to publicize the importance of women."
"I will try to make them see that physical appearance is not all that is important, but also what is inside," she said. "Women must believe in what they want. They must believe that their dreams will be realized.
"I want to be an example that, if someone truly wants something and believes in themself and their abilities, then they can reach their goals," she said.
The new Miss Universe will travel Thursday to Mexico City to meet President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. She will then go to Los Angeles, where she will receive the key to an apartment which, as part of her winnings, she wil share with Gretchen Polhemus - Miss USA and second runner-up in the contest.
Visser will eventually meet with President Bush and later with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She said she will concentrate much of her work in Europe, in order to "represent my continent."
Visser also will receive more than $300,000 in prizes and the opportunity to travel around the world for a year.
First runner-up was Miss Sweden, Louice Drerenstam.