The Miss World competition this year will be held in Bali, a notoriously Muslim area. Bowing to pressure from the local Muslim population, Miss World organizers have canceled the bikini portion of the competition.

All of the 130 plus contestants will be required to wear Bali's traditional long sarongs instead of bikinis that have been part of the competition for more than 6 decades said Adjie S. Soeratmadjie from the RCTI, the official broadcaster and local organizer.

The beach fashion will still be a featured event in the pageant, but the 137 beauty queens will wear more conservative outfits, such as sarongs.

Miss World Organisation chairwoman Julia Morley told AFP she did not want to "upset or get anyone in a situation where we are being disrespectful".

Morley added, "We treasure respect for all the countries that take part in the pageant."

Nana Putra, from the official pageant broadcaster MNC, also added that "We discussed the beach fashion issue last year with Miss World in London before we even agreed to host the event because we knew this would be sensitive in Indonesia."

The Miss World pageant will be held September 28, 2013 on the resort island of Bali and in Sentul, near the capital of Jakarta.

Indonesia has the world's largest population of Muslims.

"Indonesia is designing for us a very beautiful one-piece beachwear, and I'm very happy with them,"Julia Morley told The Associated Press by phone from London, adding that the pageant will include a special beachwear fashion show.

"I don't think Indonesia is the only country that has that culture," Morley said. "But we like to work in the manner respectful to every country, and I cannot see why when you go to somebody's country you should not behave respectfully."

Showing so much skin goes against most fundamentalist muslim teachings and many in Indonesia's Muslim hierarchy planned to boycott the event in an attempt to limit the showing of skin as part of the bikini pageant.

"That contest is just an excuse to show women's body parts that should remain covered," said Mukri Aji, a prominent cleric from West Java province's MUI branch. "It's against Islamic teachings."

The pageant began during the 1950s and in that time bikinis were considered even more taboo, but the first winner was wearing a two-piece.