Blue eyes, blonde, good in bed: What men REALLY look for in their ideal woman

But the truth about what men really want is rather more old-fashioned, according to a new survey.

For most men the ideal woman to come home to would be a pretty 5ft 8in blue-eyed blonde - who is good in bed and doesn't earn too much.

A study of 66,000 male members of a top dating site revealed that most are dreaming of meeting a busty beauty who bears a startling resemblance to Dancing On Ice host Holly Willoughby.

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Ideally, she will be a physically fit size 12, weigh a trim nine-and-a-half stones, live on her own and occasionally wear glasses.

The results are in stark contrast to the same research carried out on women by the same website earlier this year.

Their Mr Right must be a high earner on £60,000 a year who drives a Mercedes and lives in a £300,000 property in the home counties.

But the new study reveals that even in this age of equality, men prefer to earn MORE than the women they date.

An astonishing 54 per cent of men say they won't date anyone who earns more than £25,000 a year.

Intelligence wasn't particularly important either but a wacky, entertaining personality and an optimistic outlook on life would help.

The perfect woman doesn't even need to be a good at cooking or housework, but she must be a non-smoker who loves pets.

Domestic skills such as cooking and cleaning didn't even make it into the top 20 list of desirable attributes, but being good at sex came in at number seven.

David Brown, managing director of www.ukdating.com, which studied members' data to come up with the results, said:

"I should add that whilst the large majority of our male daters are looking to improve their sex lives, developing a long-term relationship with the right woman is very important.

"This research just goes to show that men are as selective with their choice of date as women are, and know exactly what they want."

She doesn't necessarily need to have her feet on the property ladder, but living with her parents is a massive turn-off.

She needs to own a car - ideally a Ford Ka or a Mazda MX5 - and have a wacky sense of humour.

Only 15 per cent of men would date a woman who had a pessimistic or cynical outlook on life.

But despite her lack of vices, a man's ideal woman would enjoy regular trips to nightclubs, pubs and restaurants.

Men aren't too concerned how much their date weighs, but only 20 per cent of men would date a woman taller than 6ft.

David Brown for www.ukdating.com added: "While the old adage 'Gentlemen prefer Blondes' still holds true today, it's interesting to note that in this world of size zeros and calorie counting, men are more interested in height than weight, and prefer a medium build girl to a skinny girl."

And while gentlemen prefer blondes, a further 35 per cent like red heads.

The perfect woman

1. Blue eyes

2. Long blonde hair

3. Occasionally wears glasses

4. Five feet eight inches tall

5. Weighs around 9.5 stones

6. A size 12

7. Good in bed

8. Earns less than £25,000 a year

9. Extremely fit

10. Very good looking

12. Wacky personality

13. Rents a house or flat

14. Optimistic

15. Owns a Ford Ka or Mazda MX5 16. Nurse or PR Executive

17. No children

18. Drinks occasionally

19. Loves clubbing 20. Non-smoker