There's more to her flirt

A coy smile and a little hairstroking would make any red-blooded man think a woman was interested. But she is probably just sizing him up, according to a new study which reveals female flirting is more complicated than previously thought.

It shows women send out subtle and deceptive signals, known as proteans, when they first meet a prospective partner, to test whether he is worth pursuing.

Men often wrongly interpret the signs and make a clumsy pass. Proteans are one of a number of courting rituals analysed by the Social Issues Research Centre, based in Oxford and backed by anthropologist Desmond Morris.

Others include the copulatory gaze, where intense eye contact is made for more than three seconds, and courtesy flirting, where people flirt out of politeness or to flatter.

Report author Kate Fox said women tended to bombard men with protean signals in the first minutes of meeting them. She added: 'By sending erratic and ambiguous signals in the early stages, women manipulate men into showing their hand.'

The study showed women initiate two-thirds of flirtatious encounters but it is often done so subtly that most men think they are taking the lead.

When dates are initiated by women, 51 per cent lead to relationships lasting more than six months.

The study showed men were more likely to flirt out of politeness, especially in Europe, where it can mislead foreigners - with embarrassing consequences.