A recent survey reckoned that, here in the UK at least, while 45 percent of the working population is female only 21 percent of the IT industry workforce can say the same. And this number seems to be falling, rather than increasing, year on year. I suspect, however, that the number of women taking part in the Miss Universe beauty competition who also work in IT would be an even smaller figure. Indeed, I would have guessed at a big fat, or rather small and skinny, zero. But that was until I heard about geek girl Sophie Johnson.

Miss Johnson is a finalist in the Miss Universe GB competition, and hopes to make it through to represent the UK at the Miss Universe finals. She also happens to have come top in her year at the University of Liverpool where she studied Computer Information Systems, one of only 5 women in a course of more than 1000 students.

Sophie, who is now working as a software developer, told us "I entered the Miss Universe GB competition because I want to challenge the stereotypes about IT professionals, not to become just another girl exposing her body for 15 minutes of fame. I want women to know that you don’t have to lose your femininity to become 'one of the boys' just to fit into a technical team, or to gain respect from other men working in this area."