Time magazine releases annual list of world's most influential people

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, landed the top spot in the "Leaders" category. The top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, is third, with U.S. President Barack Obama only in the fourth slot.

Sarah Palin, the darling of the conservative movement who continues to be a political presence after her and John McCain's failed bid at the White House in 2008, Bill Clinton, who is coordinating U.S. relief efforts in Haiti and serves as the United Nations envoy to the quake-stricken country, and Lady Gaga, a pop music sensation whose fame has skyrocketed last year, are among the list.

Other notables making the list include U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and late-night comic Conan O'Brien.

Glee star Lea Michele was recognized for her role on the hit TV show, which has been praised for encouraging kids to get involved in music programs.

Not surprisingly, Twilight star Robert Pattinson was also honored -- for being totally dreamy.

The U.S. weekly explains its sometimes surprising choices saying that the "Time 100 is not about the influence of power but the power of influence".

Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. First published in 1999 as a result of a debate among several academics, the list has become an annual event.

The list was started with a debate at a symposium at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center on February 1, 1998 with panel participants CBS news anchor Dan Rather, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, then-political science professor Condoleezza Rice, neoconservative publisher Irving Kristol and Time managing editor Walter Isaacson; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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