IT'S official - 100,000 women can't be wrong and they are all agreed that Robbie Williams IS the world's sexiest man.

In a survey organised by New Woman magazine to find the 100 top testosterone tottie, the singer outstripped all his rivals. And very nicely Robbie strips, too.

But one of the other good things about this male beauty contest is that real men have made a comeback. Most of them are good looking blokes who sweat and go out boozing with their mates.

The majority, however, are also wholesome. Ronan Keating is ninth, way ahead of the mean and moody lads such as Liam Gallagher (80). The type your mum wouldn't mind you bringing home for tea while your dad would be happy to ask them out for a pint.

In other words, they are not a bunch of pretty boys who look as if they spend their time putting on mascara and pouting in the mirror.

In fact, very few boys, pretty or otherwise, make the list at all.

The 18-year-old Prince William, the youngest of the 100, is, despite his higher profile and popularity since he left school, still 35 places behind Robbie.

And Leonardo di Caprio, once the archetypal beautiful boy, can only limp in at number 32. But then these days Leonardo is more like Lardo di Caprio.

David Beckham (11), maybe helped by the new butch haircut which cancelled out memories of the sarongs and the bandanas, was just shaved out of the top ten.

But in the main it is masculinity coupled with a large dollop of maturity which has got the girls going.

We have the eternally sexy and 70-year-old Sean Connery still hanging on in there at number 23, while George Clooney (3) and Martin Kemp (10) are pushing 40.

Some have gone right past it, including Sting (70), Robert de Niro (52) and Harrison Ford (47), none of whom will see the first flush or even 50 again.

Even Tom Jones and his facelift is there, right down at the bottom, but still able to keep company with many who are young enough to be is grandkids.

It's the 30-somethings, however, who really score. They make up the bulk of the poll perhaps because, like a good wine, they've mellowed with age. Marriage is no longer a turn-off. Seven of the top 10 have wedding rings, while kids and domesticity have not harmed the appeal of Ewan McGregor (7). He is the highest placed Scot, beating Sir Sean, Bobby Carlyle (64) Fran Healey (66) and Dougray Scott (97).

While most of those in the 100 are predictable, a few entries still raise an eyebrow.

Eddie Izzard (88) sexy? I don't think so. Madonna's chum Rupert Everett (51) is included, maybe to prove that women don't think being gay decreases a man's sex appeal. But being a politician does. Not one of them gets a look in.

Which proves that on the whole, women get these things absolutely right.

THE TOP 100

1. Robbie Williams

2. Brad Pitt

3. George Clooney

4. Tom Cruise

5. Matt LeBlanc

6. Jude Law

7. Ewan McGregor

8. Will Smith

9. Ronan Keating

10. Martin Kemp

11. David Beckham

12. Johnny Depp

13. Jay Kay

14. Eddie Irvine

15. David Ginola

16. Ben Affleck

17. Matthew Perry

18. Russell Crowe

19. Nicolas Cage

20. David Boreanaz

21. Johnny Vaughan

22. Antonio Banderas

23. Sean Connery

24. Richard Gere

25. Joseph Fiennes

26. Michael Greco

27. Keanu Reeves

28. Freddie Prinze Jr

29. Ricky Martin

30. Noah Wyle

31. Jon Bon Jovi

32. Leo Dicaprio

33. Denzel Washington

34. Matt Damon

35. Prince William

36. Bruce Willis

37. Jamie Oliver

38. Matt Dillon

39. _ J

40. Pierce Brosnan

41. Craig David

42. Brendan Fraser

43. Michael Owen

44. Ryan Phillippe

45. Gary Lucy

46. John Cusack

47. Harrison Ford

48. Enrique Iglesias

49. Goran Visnjic

50. Paul Nicholls

51. Rupert Everett

52. Robert De Niro

53. David Duchovny

54. Sean Bean

55. Daniel Day-Lewis

56. Kelly Jones

57. Jared Leto

58. Jack Ryder

59. Richard Blackwood

60. Mark Wahlberg

61. Hugh Grant

62. Eminem

63. George Michael

64. Robert Carlyle

65. Ralph Fiennes

66. Fran Healy

67. Gary Oldman

68. Dermot O'Leary

69. John Travolta

70. Sting

71. James Redmond

72. Cuba Gooding Jr

73. Jamie Theakston

74. Ian Wright

75. Joaquin Phoenix

76. Jaime Banks

77. Kevin Spacey

78. Marc Bannerman

79. Alec Baldwin

80. Liam Gallagher

81. Puff Daddy

82. Jonny Lee Miller

83. Stephen Dorff

84. Billy Zane

85. David Schwimmer

86. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers

87. Eagel-Eye Cherry

88. Eddie Izzard

89. Jim Carrey

90. Sean Penn

91. Vinnie Jones

92. Liam Neeson

93. Hugo Speer

94. Richard Ashcroft

95. Frankie Dettori

96. Jamie Redknapp

97. Dougray Scott

98. Anthony Edwards

99. William Baldwin

100. Tom Jones