Curvy glass? Just give us a pint...

This week's news that beer sales are plunging has left industry chiefs pondering how to get more women to buy it. Their solution? Smaller, curvier glasses.

But an Evening Standard survey across London found that more than half the women interviewed said they already enjoy a pint. Only a third would give the new, continental style glasses - which hold a third of a pint - a try.

Nena Robertson, 30, a journalism student from Harrow, said: "When would you order a drink like that? Certainly not after the day I've had - I've been dreaming of this pint all afternoon!"

Claire Hardy, 23, a bar worker from Stockwell, added: "It shouldn't matter what shape the glass is - it's what you feel like drinking that counts."

But Rebecca Greening, 31, a retail manager from Borough, said: "It doesn't look very nice - those big manly pints. A smaller, more feminine glass might persuade me."

A spokesman for the British Beer & Pub Association said: "The pint glass is not a very attractive shape. We want something from which you get more of a bouquet."