The ancient stone circle in Wiltshire is the only British landmark in the top 21 short-list after tens of millions of public votes worldwide.

The Tower of London, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, the London Eye and Greenwich Observatory were the other British contenders among the 77 nominated sites.

But all these popular London tourist attractions missed out as they were whittled down to 21.

The other 20 entries include the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, the Colosseum in Rome and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Kremlin, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Sydney Opera House and New York's Statue of Liberty are also finalists.

Voting will now continue throughout the year to select the seven wonders, which will be announced on New Year's Day 2007.

The poll was launched in 2000 by the New 7 Wonders Society, a Swiss group which aims to alert the world to the destruction of man-made heritage.