Nice blokes - shame about the women

CARYS MONTEATH/The Press

YEAH RIGHT: Nat Shaw, 21, and Jesse Goodwin, 20, disagree that Kiwi women are among the world's ugliest, as claimed on a website.

PREFER HOMEGROWN: 18-year-olds Selma Boesen, left, and Lis Andreasen, of Denmark, agreed that European people were among the world's most attractive.

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New Zealand men are among the most attractive in the world, but Kiwi women are among the world's ugliest.

That's according to a controversial website that allows only beautiful people to join.

Fewer than one in five New Zealand women (17 per cent) have been accepted as members on beautifulpeople.com, but one in three (33 per cent) Kiwi men successfully joined.

Members on the site rate how attractive a new applicant is over 48 hours.

They then decide whether he or she is good-looking enough to join.

More than 4900 New Zealanders have applied to join the site, with 1274 accepted.

Scandinavians have proved to be the world's most attractive.

Swedish men are regarded as the world's most attractive with 65 per cent being accepted.

Norwegian women are the world's most attractive, with 76 per cent allowed to join.

Overall, Kiwi males rank as the sixth-most-attractive worldwide.

Kiwi women aren't even in the top 10.

As usual, New Zealand men rate above our neighbours across the Tasman – only 20 per cent of Australian males have been accepted on the site.

However, more Australian women (21 per cent) than Kiwis have been accepted.

Mel Brown, director of local model agency Portfolio, said there was no shortage of good-looking folk in Christchurch.

"Here in Christchurch we really have some fantastic-looking guys and girls," Brown said.

However, Brown said it was often remarked abroad that the attractive Kiwis went overseas.

On the streets of Christchurch yesterday, Danish student Selma Boesen, 18, said European people were the world's most attractive.

"I think people in Europe are prettier. Fashion isn't a big deal here."

Friend Lis Andreasen, 18, said she didn't think Kiwi women were among the world's ugliest. "But I like the guys in Europe better," she said.

New Zealander Katie Kerr, 21, said claims Kiwis were among the world's ugliest women was a "ridiculous generalisation", while her friend, Jesse Goodwin, 21, said Kiwis were "pretty good looking".

Nat Shaw, 21, said there were plenty of attractive Kiwi women to choose from.

The beautifulpeople.com site went live worldwide last month. It has rejected nearly 1.8 million people from 90 countries.

- © Fairfax NZ News