Metropolitan Manila is the metropolitan area of the city of Manila, the national capital of the Philippines. Its residential population as of August 2007 is 11,553,427. Including suburbs in the adjacent provinces (Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan) Greater Metro Manila, has a population of approximately 22 million people (August 2007 census). Metro Manila is one of the two defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines, the other being Metro Cebu. In 2005, it ranked as the 42nd richest urban agglomeration in the world with a GDP of $108 billion according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Metro Manila is expected to climb to the 30th spot by 2020 with a GDP of $257 billion and an annual growth rate of 5.9%. As proclaimed by Presidential Decree No. 940, Metro Manila as a whole is the Philippines' seat of government although only the City of Manila is the capital. The City of Manila (Filipino: Lungsod ng Maynila), or simply Manila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. Located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay just west of the National Capital Region in western side of Luzon, it is one of the central hubs of a thriving metropolitan area home to over 14 million people. Manila, occupying a total land area of 38.3 square kilometers, is the second most populous city in the Philippines, with more than 1.6 million inhabitants. Only nearby Quezon City, the country's former capital, is more populous. The metropolitan area is the second most populous in Southeast Asia.

Celebrity

A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention. The word stems from the Latin verb "celebrere" but they may not become a celebrity unless public and mass media interest is piqued. There are degrees of celebrity status which vary based on an individual's region or field of notoriety. While someone might be a celebrity to some people, to others they may be completely unknown. A global celebrity on the other hand is someone who is known by most people or is a mainstream celebrity. Such celebrities are also known as either a household name or superstar. For example, Virgin Director Richard Branson was famous as a CEO, but he did not become a global celebrity until he attempted to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon and generate publicity for himself. Another high profile categorisation of celebrity status is the A-list, based on the marketability of celebrities. Generally speaking, a celebrity is someone who seeks media attention and most frequently have extroverted personalities. The desire to be famous is implied by some to be a part of western culture and more specifically the American Dream as a measure of success. Celebrities that shy away from the public eye or keep a very seperate private life are called a reluctant celebrity. A notable example is Kurt Cobain. On the oher end of the spectrum, those that seek out publicity for themselves are often called a media tart whereas those that use their private life as a vehicle for enhanced celebrity status, sometimes desperately, are referred to as a media whore. Examples of this are fake or planned relationships, reality television appearances, celebrity nudity and in extreme cases, scandal or celebrity sex tape. There are a wide range of ways people can become celebrities, from their profession, appearances in the mass media, beauty or even by complete accident or infamy. Instent celebrity is the term that is used when someone becomes a celebrity in very short period of time. In some places, someone that somehow achieves a small amount of transient fame through hype or mass media, is stereotyped as a B-grade celebrity. Often the stereotype extends to someone that falls short of mainstream or persistent fame but seeks to extend or exploit it.