AMSTERDAM, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Katy Perry won the award for best female singer at the 2013 MTV EMA music awards in Amsterdam on Sunday, pipping Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus to the post and collecting her third EMA prize in the process.

With the three pop divas in contention, the prize for best female was the most closely watched battle at the Viacom-owned music network's 20th annual European awards ceremony.

Claiming her prize, the U.S. singer gave a dramatic performance of her song "Unconditionally", suspended like a sequin-covered glitter ball 9 metres (30 feet) above a gigantic outer-space-themed set.

Cyrus, who was awarded best video for "Wrecking Ball", capitalised on her infamous "twerking" encounter with musician Robin Thicke at the U.S. Video Music Awards in August, walking the red carpet in a bold mini dress with the words "Please Stop Violence" wrapped tightly around her hip.

British-Irish boy band One Direction had a good night, taking the prize for best pop, while Harry Styles, known as much for his singing in the band as for his celebrity girlfriends, was awarded best style.

U.S. rapper Eminem was given the "Global Icon" prize for lifetime achievement along with best hip-hop, just a week after being declared artist of the year at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards, run by emerging music industry rival Google.

Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto reacted to his band's winning the best alternative prize by calling for a minute of silence for those affected by typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines on Friday, killing an estimated 10,000 people.

Justin Bieber held on to his best male status for a fourth consecutive year, while Beyonce and Bruno Mars won awards for best live act and best song, respectively. China's Chris Lee won best worldwide act.