* 1976, Perth -

By SARA TEMPLETON

If it's one thing we Aussies are good at, it's beating others at their own game. You only need to look as far as sport to see how far our domination spreads, and now Megan Gale is Miss Popular in one of the most fashionable and European countries ever - Italy.

The Perth born beauty is able to walk around in Australian cities, doing things any normal person would do - go shopping, buy an ice-cream, watch a play or check out the Web Wombat Fashion channel. But in Italy, she can't even go into an Internet Cafe to keep up on the local issues.

It's true. In Italy - she is a goddess and worshipped in the same manner. She gets mobbed in the street and therefore can often be seen flanked by burly bodyguards wearing dark sunglasses and even darker temperaments!

But where did it all start for the Aussie-born Euro-starlet?

Born in 1976, Perth, Western Australia, Megan Gale was just another Aussie lass. Standing 180cm tall, Megan Gale was studying at Uni in when all of sudden she was offered a part in a new advertising campaign. But unlike a lot of other top models, Megan Gale slogged her way to the top - the occupation didn't just fall into her lap. She has worked hard over the last nine years (assuming you read this in 2002) to get to where she is now.

She dropped university, instead getting many a gig as a model on the Italian circuit. Over there, Megan is known to many people as many different things.

Some call her the model with the eyes, some call her the smiling model, and some just say she's a very attractive woman. Either way, she won over the Italians in a way not thought possible until now. She's even been in a couple of Italian movies, starring as Viviana in Stregati dalla luna (2001) and playing herself in Vacanze di Natale 2000 (1999). You go grrrl!

But more than just superficialities, Megan Gale always makes an impression on those she meets via her charming persona.

Sure, she's tall and gorgeous, but she's down to earth in a very un-model like way. And one of her more recent annoyances - being called a supermodel. She says she's a model and there's nothing super about it. Not only charming, but humble, too.

So there you have it. Australians are good at everything, even charming elitist Europeans - but then we knew that already.