A Lebanese-American woman has beaten 50 other contestants to be crowned Miss USA.

Rima Fakih is the first Muslim and immigrant to win the coveted beauty pageant title.

The 24-year-old was selected by a panel of celebrity judges including real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump, who also is one of the organisers of the annual event, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to US news reports, Fakih's family moved to America while she was a baby.

She was raised in New York City where she attended a Catholic school.

In 2003 her family moved to Michigan.

She told pageant organisers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths.

Fakih nudged out first runner-up Miss Oklahoma to claim the title.

She will represent the US in the Miss Universe pageant to be held in Las Vegas later this year.

The Detroit Free Press newspaper reported that a large crowd gathered at a restaurant in Dearborn, which has a large Arab-American community, to watch the contest and cheer on Fakih.

"This is historic," Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, was quoted as saying.

"This shows the greatness of America, how everyone can have a chance to make it."

Another Dearborn resident, Zouheir Alawieh, told the Free Press:"This is the real face of Arab-Americans, not the stereotypes you hear about.

"We have culture. We have beauty. We have history - and today we made history."

- AFP