The rankings are based on innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness long-term investment, quality of products or services and global competitiveness. So here are the world's most admired companies. . .

1. Apple

Apple Inc has topped the Fortune list of most admired companies for the second year in a row. For a company that scores high on innovation and quality of products, this year began on a grim note with cheief executive officer Steve Jobs taking a long leave to cure what he described 'a nutritional problem'. I will continue as Apple's CEO during my recovery, he explained. Jobs's ill health had led to speculation that his pancreatic cancer was back and shares of the company plunged.

Apple products under Jobs's leadership continues to win mass appeal. The company posted a revenue of $10.17 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.61 billion for the quarter ended December 27, 2008. During this period, Apple sold 2,524,000 Macintosh, a 9 per cent growth over the year-ago quarter.

In 2008, Apple sold 10 million iPhones and more than 54 million iPods -- a record 22,727,000 (iPods) were sold in the December quarter itself. Founded by Steve Jobs and Steven Wozniak in California on April 1, 1976 and incorporated in 1977, the company was called 'Apple Computer Inc' for 30 long years.

Today, Apple has 35,000 employees worldwide. Read on to find out more about the other most admired firms...

Image: Apple iMac. Photograph, courtesy: Apple

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