It's dog eat dog in America's dating jungle

No one was impressed. According to recent reports, the board running her building in Los Angeles is thinking of ejecting her, and her next movie may not start filming as scheduled. All this, despite her lawyer putting out a statement that she had temporarily slipped off the wagon and that alcohol was the true culprit.

Nonetheless, her loose sexual behaviour is indicative of one big difference between American and English dating, particularly in big cities. In New York and LA, among the wealthy, professional and celebrity sets, it is quite normal, if you are single, to "date" - ie, wine and dine - four or so people at the same time, and sleep with them too, without feeling disloyal to anyone.

I have a friend in his early thirties who spent six months sleeping with a recently-divorced mother in her forties, along with other younger women, without any qualms. "We're just having fun," he shrugged. When I pointed out that he might just be using the older, perhaps vulnerable, woman for sex, he retorted: "She's using me, too."

Sex without strings sounds very sophisticated - call it the Sex and the City phenomenon - but in reality, Carrie would not marry Mr Big. He would walk away with a 19-year-old supermodel while Carrie grew wrinkled and bitter.

Real companionship and love comes with feeling that someone wants to be with you more than anyone else. So how do New Yorkers figure this out and finally try to settle down with one person. Answer: we grow up.

"I have so much great sex and I've never felt more alone," one of my best male friends confided to me the other day. My money is on him being engaged within the year.

But our culture will pressure him the other way. Television shows or films that endorse family values, such as Father of the Bride or Ugly Betty, are rare. It's much cooler, the media insinuates, to be tantalisingly available à la George Clooney.

As for Lindsay Lohan? Psychiatrists I've asked say they think she may have an addiction to sex, just like she has to alcohol, because of low self-esteem. Perhaps she should move to Britain and find a nice man to show her the benefits of having one boyfriend at a time.