Lotharios Lose Pulling Power

Italian men, who have revelled in their reputation as hotblooded Lotharios, are no longer the lovers of legend, according to a survey of 1,200 men on the country's favourite beaches.

In the sample of men aged between 16 and 35, 87% admitted that they lacked the confidence to chat up women and were "paralysed by the fear of being refused".

Members of a research group on sexual behaviour called Serenella Salomoni spoke to men in Rimini, Viareggio and Gallipoli, on beaches traditionally regarded by budding casanovas as ideal hunting grounds.

The loss of confidence is thought to be in part a result of women's growing independence and confidence in rejecting men's advances more categorically and more frequently than they did in the past. Sophie Arie, Rome