Taipei – Taiwanese interpreter Clare Wang became the top contender for the dream job as caretaker of an unmanned island off the coast of Australia Thursday after the No 2 candidate was disqualified.

The Queensland tourism board removed Russian candidate Julia Yalovitsyna from the top-50 shortlist because she featured in an “inappropriate video.” The judging panel was also probing claims that she worked as a porn star.

With the 37-year-old now out of the picture, the gap between the Wang, who is in her 20s, and the other candidates is even wider.

Since Tourism Queensland launched the campaign to find a caretaker for six months for Hamilton Island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, more than 35,000 people worldwide have applied, lured by the 100,000 US dollar pay and the scenery.

By Thursday, Wang had won 143,965 votes from online voters around the world, with applicants from Canada (47,936 votes), Ireland (27,910), the United States (19,895) and France (15,163) trailing behind.

In her videotape, Wang describes herself as good at breaking the communication barrier, curious and adventurous. She says she likes swimming, diving, mountain climbing and bungee jumping. That she has never been to the Great Barrier Reef is “one more reason you should vote for me!” she says.

Media reports in Taiwan said it was a miracle that Wang has become so popular, suggesting her warmth, enthusiasm and fluency in English could have played a role.

Tourism Queensland will thin the shortlist to 11 candidates on April 2, by choosing 10 names. One of the candidates is to be chosen in an online vote.

The authority plans to interview the 11 finalists on May 3 and announce the winner on May 6. The new caretaker is due to start work on the island on July 1: cleaning a swimming pool, feeding fish and producing a blog to relay to the world her impressions of Hamilton Island as a holiday destination. (dpa)