NZ in World Wonders final

Milford Sound is one of the finalists in the search for the New Seven Wonders of the World. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand's Milford Sound has been nominated to compete for a spot on a list of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Over 260 natural landmarks were nominated from people around the world.

Experts chose the final 26 from the 77 landmarks with the most votes.

The list will be reduced to a final seven in 2011.

Other finalists included the Grand Canyon in the United States, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon Rain Forest and Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro.

Organiser Bernard Weber said over one billion people were expected to vote on the final seven.

"This campaign should contribute to the appreciation - to the knowledge - of our environment and not just the one in our country but worldwide.

"If we or our children want to save anything, we should first appreciate it."

The competition is similar to that for the seven Man-Made Wonders of the world chosen in 2007.

The winners then were the Colosseum, Italy; the Great Wall of China; the Taj Mahal, India; Petra, Jordan; the Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brazil; Machu Picchu, Peru; and the Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico.

To vote for your favourite seven wonders of the world, click here.

Full list of finalists
Amazon
Angel Falls, Venezuela
Bay of Fundy, Canada
Black Forest, Germany
Bu Tinah Shoals, UAE
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
Dead Sea
El Yunque, Puerto Rico
Galapagos, Ecuador
Grand Canyon
Great Barrier Reef
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
Jeita Grotto, Lebanon
Jeju Island, South Korea
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Komodo, Indonesia
Maldives
Masurian Lake District, Poland
Matterhorn/Cervino, Switzerland/Italy
Milford Sound
Mud Volcanoes, Azerbaijan
Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines
Sundarbans, India/Bangladesh
Table Mountain, South Africa
Uluru, Australia
Vesuvius, Italy
Yushan, Chinese Taipei

- NZPA