Reader's Digest magazine sent reporters to the principal cities of each of the 35 countries where it is published, to conduct a survey of local politeness. Three tests were employed: dropping papers in a busy street to see if anyone would help; checking how often shop assistants said ''thank you''; and counting how often someone held a door open.

The most courteous city in the world now, is New York. It came top in the survey, with a score of 80 per cent, compared to 57 per cent for London and Paris who scored a disappointing joint 15th, beaten by such cities as Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid and Prague.

According to former mayor of the Big Apple, ''Since 9/11 New Yorkers are more caring. They understand the shortness of life.'' Zurich is the second most polite city in the world.

If you believed the English had good manners, and the French are rude, then the answer is no. In fact, both are equally rude.

Moscow is also a very rude place, with a score of only 42 per cent. Courtesy is not big in Asia, either. Every city on this continent tested, with the exception of Hong Kong, finished in the bottom ten. None of the three tests scored more than 40 per cent in any Asian city. Mumbai scored the lowest at 32 per cent.

Bucharest has been judged the rudest city in Europe.

Katherine Walker, editor in chief of the Digest's British edition, said, ''This was the world's biggest real-life test of common courtesy; our researchers conducted more than 2,000 separate tests.'' Analysis of all the results suggest that the worldwide level of politeness stands at 55 per cent. If common courtesy is the oil that keeps society running, Reader's Digest concludes, some cities could do with a top-up.

UNI XC PR HT1738