Vietnamese conductor Pham Hong Hai, a judge for the competition, says songwriter Do Hong Quan has got through to the final round. The names of the other nine contestants have not been released yet.

Mr Quan’s song, titled “The new ASEAN Anthem”, tells of a dream of peace and stability among Southeast Asian nations. It was recorded with a full orchestra and choir.

The 10-member jury board, one for each of the ASEAN countries, voted for 10 songs for the final round, which will take place in Bangkok from November 19-22.

“I wrote The New ASEAN Anthem within a month,” said Mr Quan, adding that one difficulty was writing a song that couldn’t be longer than one minute.

According to conductor Hai, Mr Quan’s song has the four colours of the SEAN flag: blue sky, white sand, yellow rice fields and red blood, while his lyrics reflect the dignity, co-operation and solidarity of ASEAN nations.

The song is one of two Vietnamese entries in the competition. The other was composed by a young musician, Duc Trinh. There are over 100 entrees, Laos with three, Cambodia seven, Indonesia 20, Malaysia 18, Thailand 11, Myanmar 13, the Philippines 20, Singapore four and Brunei four.

Apart from a prize worth US$20,000, the winning song will be given a new arrangement and be performed at the 14^th ASEAN Summit in Thailand in December 2008.