If you want to catch a man's attention, don't bother fluttering your eyelashes or flicking your hair. Just practise your pout.

According to a study, a woman's lips are the most attractive part of her body. Especially if she's wearing red lipstick.

Scientists found that in the ten seconds after meeting a lady for the first time, the average chap will spend more than half his time gazing at her mouth.

If she's appliedlipstick, he'll find it difficult to look away, with a dash of pink holding his attention for 6.7 seconds and red keeping him fixated for 7.3 seconds.

The study, carried out by scientists at Manchester University, involved tracking the eye movements of 50 men as they were presented with images of different women.

When the women wore lipstick, the men gazed at their lips for an average of seven seconds - spending just 0.95 seconds looking at their eyes and 0.85 seconds studying their hair.

But when they went without make-up, the men tired of looking at their lips after 2.2 seconds, instead devoting 2.97 seconds to admiring their eyes and 2.77 seconds to studying their noses.

Full lips were deemed to be the most attractive feature, but the appeal of thin lips increased by more than 40 per cent once make-up had been applied.

Dr Geoff Beattie, who led the research, said: 'This study proves that lips represent one of the most sensual aspects of a woman's body and play a critical role in human sexualattraction. Full and red lips combined deliver the perfect pout to achieve male fixation, but women who simply wear lipstick - regardless of their lip type - secure significantly greater levels of attraction than those who do not.

'For centuries, women have painted their lips red to enhance their appeal, with this practice dating back as far as the Ancient Egyptians who commonly used red lipstick and rouge to enhance their attractiveness.

'The research suggests that red lips and perceived attractiveness are still inextricably linked, with red lipstick proving to be the most powerful attractor and significantly increasing visual fixation.'

HOT LIPS: THE TOP TEN

Angelina Jolie

Scarlett Johansson

Cheryl Cole

Jessica Alba

Beyonce Knowles

Halle Berry

Megan Fox

Eva Mendes

Kimberley Walsh

Nicole Scherzinger

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.)

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(Agencies)