Taylor Swift, the wonderful and much-needed antidote to young female celebrities such as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, has been named CosmoGirl magazine's 2008 Girl of the Year. Taylor is featured on the cover and in a five-page spread that leads off the magazine's annual "Born to Lead" honors section.

During the photo shoot in New York's Central Park, a class of third-graders mistakenly concluded that the 18-year-old singer/songwriter was Paris Hilton.

"The fact is, Taylor is about as different from Paris as you can get," the magazine said. "Despite her superstar status, she doesn't party, she still lives with her family, and she's more comfortable in her flat, fringed booties than in Prada pumps. Actually, Taylor has always known who she was meant to be."

Taylor is also on the cover of the December issues of Girls' Life and Women's Health. She's Cosmopolitan's "Fun, Fearless Female" for December, Allure magazine's "Your Face" for December and Seventeen magazine's "Style Star of 2008."