Irish accent voted sexiest in world, over French

It's official! Thanks in no small part to Colin Farrell

French men can only hang their heads in shame as they came fourth - just ahead of the Australian accent.The survey, which polled 5,000 women from around the world, revealed that Ireland is now tops for sexiest accent, beating out Italy and Scotland for the top spot.Ireland has been in or around the top spot for five years but this is the first win for the Emerald Isle.

England was sixth (haha!) and Sweden was seventh, with Spain Wales and America completing the top 10.

A spokesman for the pollsters, www.OnePoll.com, said Colin Farrell was the main draw.

"High-profile stars such as Colin Farrell have helped bring the accent more to the fore," he said.

And OnePoll said president Nicolas Sarkozy had probably torpedoed the traditional French image.

"The French accent is nowhere near as popular as it used to be," he said.

''You can probably blame Nicolas Sarkozy for that, he has single-handedly changed the perception of how the world sees French men.

The study also found that 60 percent of women said an accent could seduce them while 40% said they would rather sleep with a man with a nice accent, rather than a harsh one.

World's sexiest accents

1. Irish

2. Italian

3. Scottish

4. French

5. Australian

6. English

7. Swedish

8. Spanish

9. Welsh

10. American

By Antoinette Kelly