Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi is the world's second most powerful woman according to Forbes magazine which published a list that also included India's Sonia Gandhi, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.(AFP)

China's Vice Premier Wu Yi was the world's second most powerful woman, according to a list published by Forbes magazine.

Topping the Forbes list of the world's 100 most power ful women was Condoleezza Rice, the national security advisor of U.S. President George W. Bush.

Sonia Gandhi, the president of India's ruling Congress Party who wields immense influence behind the scenes after turning down the job of prime minister, came in third.

U.S. First Lady Laura Bush was in fourth place, followed by Senator Hillary Clinton and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

"For each candidate, we came up with a numerical weight defined by her title and resume, the size of the economic sphere in which she wields power... and the number of global media mentions," the magazine said.

The list also included heiresses, media and entertainment personalities, queens and the wives of political leaders, with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher being 21st on the list, while Britain's first lady, Cherie Blair, in 12th place.

(Xinhua)

wield: handle effectively（支配；掌握）

numerical: measured or expressed in numbers（数字的, 用数表示的）