Times Higher Education's 2013 World Reputation Rankings have, yet again, revealed that an elite group of six universities in the US and the UK are the global "super-brands" which have, in terms of reputation and prestige, pulled away from the chasing pack.

According to this year's World Reputation Rankings, a subsidiary of the prestigious The World University Rankings, the elite group of six `super-brands" - the top-rankers on the list of 100 leading university brands - is headed by the Harvard University.

The other five universities ranked below the Harvard University are: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of Cambridge; the University of Oxford; the University of California, Berkeley; and Stanford University.

Going by the annual rankings list, published on March 4, universities of 20 countries represent the top 100 university brands this year; with Asian universities continuing to witness a rise in the rankings. Moreover, in this year's rankings, Australia has had two new representatives - the University of New South Wales and Monash University - featuring in list of world's top 100 universities.

About the World Reputation Rankings, Times Higher Education's editor Phil Baty said the reputation of a university is "subjective;" but also added alongside that "it matters deeply in today's highly competitive global marketplace. It has serious real-world impact - helping to attract top student and academic talent, and encouraging industrial investment and benefactions."