SHE'S Singapore's only professional female magician, known simply as 'Magic Babe Ning'.

MagicSeen, Europe's largest magic magazine, labelled her the 'sexiest woman in magic'.

Does that downplay her achievements?

Not at all. The 26-year-old leggy beauty is proud of the title.

'I believe in playing up what you have,' she said. 'You should use what God gave you.'

She revealed to The New Paper in a recent interview that in the male-dominated magician scene, her male peers often blast her for being 'just a pretty face'.

Said Ning, who performs onstage with local illusionist J C Sum: 'If I were just a pretty face, I wouldn't be able to handle the big projects that people have entrusted me with. My performance speaks for itself.'

On 31 Jan, she will become the first Singaporean to headline an international magic convention in the UK.

Ning confessed that while the sexy image is 'an extension' of her, she's actually quite the geek.

'People who are close to me know me as the girl-next-door, the smart cookie who did every well in university,' she said.

'I'm the studious person who swept away all the awards in school.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on Dec 30, 2008.