And while 40 percent of Portuguese men rated intelligence over looks in a first encounter, no Australian men did so.

And the most important trait in a mate is...

By Kamakshi Tandon
Fri Jan 27, 9:42 AM ET

TORONTO (Reuters) - When it comes to romance, women prefer someone who tickles their funny bone while men opt for those who catch their eye, according to an international survey released on Wednesday.

The survey, conducted in 16 countries by Canadian romance publisher Harlequin Enterprises, asked men and women on six continents about traits they liked or disliked and how they went about trying to meet Mr. or Ms. Right.

The poll revealed differences between countries in the way people tried to impress the opposite sex.

Australians and British men frequently admitted drinking too much, while about half of German and Italian men said they had lied about their finances. Spaniards were the most likely to use sex to catch someone's attention.

Eighty percent of Brazilian and Mexican men said they had lied about their marital or relationship status, as did 70 percent of German women, the survey said.

When it came to meeting that special someone, a majority of respondents preferred to rely on friends for introductions. The Internet was not a popular hunting ground except in Portugal, where about half the surveyed men and women opted to find people online.

Both Spain and France suffered a gender gap. Thirty percent of Spanish men, but no Spanish women, looked for love online. In France, 40 percent of men but only 10 percent of women attended parties, bars and clubs to meet someone, but they did have one thing in common: both sexes rated looks as more important than their counterparts in other countries.

When it came to that first meeting, a majority of men polled said beauty was more important than brains, while women put a sense of humor at the top of their list.

Physical attraction was the top priority for men in France, Brazil, Greece, Japan and Britain. And while 40 percent of Portuguese men rated intelligence over looks in a first encounter, no Australian men did so.

In the United States and Canada, humor was considered the most important trait by both men and women, getting 63 and 73 percent of the vote respectively.

Where are we Jen and Kim?

Where are we Jen and Kim?
Originally uploaded by Broken Piggy Bank.

While in Queensland, Kim and I had different guidebooks, mine was a Lonely Planet: Australia which was given to me as part of my Working Holiday Visa scheme. Kim had this other one that listed more, ahem, 'refined' activities that LP didn't mention. Without Kim's guidebook, we would have never discovered the Art Deco coffehouse in Katoomba. Remember kids, one guidebook should not be your only source.

While in Queensland (specifically, the Gold Coast - which is Australian for "LasVegasMiamiOrlandoAtlanticCity"), Kim fererenced her guidebook and suggested that we leave the coastal confines of Surfers Paradise and head less than an hour away to Lamington National Park. What a great idea to visit during the week because we had the whole park to ourselves (pretty much) during our several-hour hike. We didn't see as much wildlife as we had expected, altho we did spot a few small marsupials. Twas a splended walk in the forest and after, I was chuffed. I believe that later that night upon returning to Surfers Paradise, we four discovered the "mates' tray".

Here's a write-up about Lamington National Park in the Sydney Mornning Herald.