By Nick Wilkinson
Tico Times Staff | nwilkinson@ticotimes.net

Isla del Coco, a virtually uninhabited island 584 km (365 miles) west of Costa Rica's Pacific port of Puntarenas, is currently ranked fifth on a list of the world's natural wonders, coming in right behind the Ganges River in India and the Amazon River in South America.

The list is compiled daily by a Swiss foundation called New7Wonders after the results of ongoing voting to create a new category of seven natural – as opposed to man-made – wonders of the world.

Isla del Coco is not the nation's only place on the list. Arenal Volcano ranks 122.

People can vote online for their favorite wonder but it doesn't appear the Web site (http://www.new7wonders.com) has any control over people stuffing the ballot box – voting more than once. All that is required to vote is an e-mail address and a voter has to rank seven different “wonders” in the order of their preference.

Voting started in January and ends on Dec. 31. After this year's results, a panel of “experts” will evaluate and create a list of 21 finalists that will be voted on again during 2009. The foundation says they will announce the winners in 2010.

Susana Pérez, a spokeswoman for MarViva, Costa Rica's equivalent of Greenpeace, is encouraging people to vote so the country gains international recognition for its little slice of paradise. She said she hopes a win would also help the island gain more environmental protection and not encourage development.

Bernard Weber, a Swiss-Canadian, created the New7Wonders foundation in 2001, according to its Web site.

“(The foundation) is committed to investing 50% of excess revenue in global good causes related to monument documentation and preservation,” a press release states.

The foundation does not disclose the source of its revenue and reports having two other arms – the NewOpenWorld Foundation, which runs the voting campaigns, and the private for-profit NewOpenWorld corporation, which is the commercial licensing arm.

According to Weber, the original Seven Wonders of the World – Lighthouse of Alexandria, Temple of Artemis, Statue of Zeus, Colossus of Rhodes, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and Pyramids of Egypt – were compiled by Philon of Byzantium in 200 B.C.

“Philon's selection of wonders was essentially a travel guide for fellow Athenians and its stunning sites were all located around the Mediterranean basin, the then-known world,” a press release states.