In 2011, the most-read article on Tuoitrenews is “Young woman ages overnight, allergy suspected”, which is about a woman in her twenties who suddenly turned into an old woman. But what is the most popular story in 2012? What are the 10 most-read articles on our website last year? Here they are, based on pageviews:

Note: we only count news articles published in 2012.

10 - Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

The 10th most read story last year is about Cathy Huynh, Canadian citizen and her American friend Karin Joy Bowerman – both in their 20s – who mysteriously died in late July and early August after backpacking in the beachside city of Nha Trang.

9 - Spratlys, Paracels not on 1904 Chinese map

Coming at number 9 is an article about a Han-Chinese map of China published in 1904 that re-asserts Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands did not belong to China. Shanghai Publishing House printed the map whose Vietnamese name is “Hoàng triều trực tỉnh địa dư toàn đồ” (Map of all Chinese provinces).

After holding it for 30 years, Dr. Mai Hong, former head of the Library of the Institute for the Study of Chinese and Demotic Scripts and Cultures, has decided to release the historical evidence.

8 - Local models embrace Euro with body painting

Not so serious like the first two stories, the one trailing next is a light hearted photo piece that feasts the eye.

Here, models Sella Truong and Tu Hanh Van exposed their curvy body under paintwork featuring the national flags of the two co-hosts of the European football championship.

7 - ‘You’re not special’ graduation speech sparks buzz

A speech in the US nevertheless made up the 7th most-read article on Tuoitrenews where Wellesley High English teacher David McCullough told students they "are not special” and that "you've been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble wrapped ... feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie…if everyone is special, then no one is”

“If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. ... We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement."

6 - Striptease in restaurants

Regular guests call restaurants with striptease a ‘box,’ as each small room is thoroughly secluded by partitions without a window, and each man is coupled with a young ‘worker of entertainment’.

A memorable line from this article is “Within just two minutes, the show ended. Beer and tips cost in total VND5 million (US$238)”.

5 - Vietnam man's giant tumor surgery a success

The historic 10-hour long surgery on January 5 to remove a massive 90kg tumor from Nguyen Duy Hai at FV hospital in Ho Chi Minh City was closely observed in Vietnam and abroad.

Dr. McKinnon, the main surgeon, agreed to waive his fee on Hai while the remaining costs, around VND252 million (around $12,000), were covered by donations raised at home and abroad.

4 - My Xuan’s celebrity prostitution ring indicted

The bust of a sex ring involving actresses and models in June led by Miss South Mekong 2009 Vo Thi My Xuan rocked the public and its story has become the 4th most read on Tuoitrenews.

The news also grabbed huge attention from global media outlets like MSN News, Times Live, Tengri News, and 21 CN in China, BBC in the UK, and VOA (Voice of America), and Singapore’s Straits Time, among others.

3 - New characters in 'Pokémon Black & White 2' trailer

Probably the strangest story to enter our top 10 list is about a new trailer for Pokémon Black 2 & White 2, whatever it is. Somehow, it ends up at the third most-read article, probably thanks probably to teens and gamers.

2 - Call-girl ring operates via sex website in Vietnam

Starting from a sex website, www.alauxanh... -- registered in the US -- has developed into a nation-wide call-girl ring with hundreds of sex workers who are willing to serve moneyed men. The ring runners are also the website administrators, who recruit moderators or pimps to monitor sex workers and search for new beautiful girls from various provinces to add to the website.

The prices swing from VND200,000-10,000,000 (US$9 – 481) per encounter or per night.

1 - Vietnam ladies' dens for foreigners in city

So what attracted most readers last year? The answer is “Vietnam ladies' dens for foreigners in city”.

The most-read story published in January 2012 is an exposé into high-class prostitution where young girls play restaurant hosts. They are hired to receive foreign men in secluded rooms for karaoke singing and then join the men in their homes after 23:30pm.

Many of the girls are college students attracted by copious tips from their night-shift labor: VND300,000 – 400,000 (US$14-19) for sitting with a male expat for one or two hours, and another $100-400 for spending a night, starting from 23:30pm.

The restaurants cluster themselves in Districts 1 and 3 in the center of the city, with guests mainly coming from South Korea, China, Japan and Singapore. There, girls are called ‘lady,’ and are actually treated like no more than prostitutes, the only difference being price.

Around 50 such ‘dens’ exist on streets such as Ngo Van Nam, Pham Ngu Lao, Pham Ngoc Thach, Nguyen Thai Binh, Chu Manh Trinh and Bui Vien in the center of the city, which is the busiest economic hub of Vietnam.

To read the 10 most popular stories of 2011, click here.