More sex, we're British

French kissing? The Eiffel Tower? The language of love? It has long appeared that France is the home of true romance.

Meanwhile, the repressed Anglo-Saxon attitude to passion was best summed up by the West End farce No Sex Please, We're British. Now an extensive international survey of 50,000 people who claim to be "active lovers" seems to prove that the stereotypes have some basis in fact. The good news for the British, however, is that - when it comes to libido - we are leaps ahead of the Americans, New Zealanders and even the Spanish.

Research by condom manufacturers has found that while the French have sex an average 167 times a year, the Dutch 158 and the Danes 152, us Brits can only manage it 149 times. The Americans and New Zealanders notched up 138 and 135 respectively, while the Spanish only make love 121 times a year.

But while the Anglo-Saxon, Latino and Antipodean lovers may fare badly, they can at least lay claim to some of the sexiest celebrities in the world. Brad Pitt is the most popular, seen by 33 per cent of people as the sexiest male, followed by David Beckham and Enrique Iglesias, both at 16 per cent.

For men, Kylie Minogue is the female celebrity most dream of sleeping with, with 18 per cent of the vote, closely followed by Jennifer Lopez at 17 per cent. The study, which involved 50,000 visitors to Durex's websites in 46 countries responding to a questionnaire - 3,500 of them from Britain - also found that when we do slip between the sheets, it appears our partner is often the last person on our minds. Among other findings was that nearly one-third of Britons fantasise about having sex with a celebrity and almost half of British males fantasise about sex with their best friend's partner. Sixteen per cent of women dream of sex with their boss.

But the research was challenged by relationship counsellor Denise Knowles, who said the myth about under-sexed Britons was outdated. "I'd like to know who is the architect of this myth that the British are not passionate because there is little evidence to support it," she said. "As for these findings, competition is often unhealthy. If we are happy with what we've got and if our partner is happy it should not matter what everyone else is doing. It can put on undue pressure that affects the relationship, especially if there is one partner who is not satisfied and can use such studies as ammunition."

The survey did have a more serious side. It found that while 68 per cent of Britons consider HIV and Aids a serious problem, almost 40 per cent have had unprotected sex with a new partner in the past 12 months.