The Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce on Friday the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, the world's most prestigious and often controversial award.

At 0900 GMT or 11:00 a.m. local time in Norway, Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of Norwegian Nobel Committee will reveal the result of weeks-long deliberations.

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Until then, the world could only guess who among the 278 candidates will be named the Nobel laureate.

The selection for Peace prize is shrouded in mystery and only those whose sponsors have publicly announced their vetted candidates have been named.

Geir Lundestad, a member of the Nobel committee that is notorious for making surprise choices, told The Associated Press that this is a particularly difficult year. Instead of the regular five or six meetings, the committee met seven times this year, he told the newspaper without hinting on who the likely winner would be.

International pundits have named five popular contenders, though.

According to CNN, Pope Francis could make history by becoming the first Roman Catholic pontiff to be awarded the peace prize. Since becoming pope in March last year, the 77-year-old "rock star" pontiff has redefined papacy with his humility, compassion, and a fresh sense of inclusive Catholicism.

Another is the teenage champion of education, Malala Yousafzai, who stared death in the face when she was shot in the head in 2010 for advocating the right to education. She survived the assassination attempt and rose to become the international symbol of triumph over adversity, CNN said.

In an age of rape as a weapon of war, one man dares to swim against the tide. Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege has been in the Nobel peace prize limelight for the last couple of years.

He has been providing a sanctuary for rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo, healing the psychological and physical wounds of sexual violence.

The people of the island of Lampedusa in Italy are also a strong contender. An Oslo professor nominated them for their solidarity with the migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to seek a better life in Europe, ABC News reported.

Other Nobel Peace prize nominees include former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, who, although considered a traitor by some for exposing the shocking snooping activities of U.S. intelligence agencies, is lauded for stirring a global debate on government surveillance and personal liberties; the newspaper Novaya Gazetta whose four reporters were killed for their fierce criticism of the Russian government; and, the pacifist group called Japanese People Who Conserve Article 9 for their commitment for preserving a constitutional clause that renounces war.

TagsNobel Peace Prize 2014, Pope Francis, Edward Snowden, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege