Ms Yuan Jing, 22, who ranked second out of 1,000 contestants in the Miss Chinese International Pageant held by a Hong Kong television station, insisted she had not withdrawn under pressure, Xinhua news agency said.

'I'm too busy to continue the contest. I have a heavy workload,' she was quoted as saying, citing her political duties.

Ms Yuan is a deputy to the National People's Congress, China's legislature, from the eastern province of Jiangsu. One of China's youngest deputies, she is also an alternate member of the Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee.

She was inducted into politics at a young age because she proved herself to be an efficient leader of a militia group comprising young women.

But Internet users in China have complained about her participation in a beauty contest given her political background.

Some said a congress deputy should not be involved in such trivial pursuits in a country where millions struggle to get ahead, while others complained about MsYuan listing her political titles on her pageant biography, Xinhua added.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE