A team of researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) has finally put to bed one of the most pressing questions on the male mind, penis size does indeed matter.

Well. To a point.

Led by Dr Brain Mautz and Professor Michael Jonnions, the research team showed life-size, computer generated male figures differing in  height, body shape and penis size to 105 women and asked them to rate the figures’ sexual attractiveness.

“This is a topic that has captured the imagination of people all over the world for a very long time,” Professor Jennions said. “If you look at the magazine rack in your local newsagent, sooner or later you’ll see an article entitled ‘Does size matter?’ We wanted to answer this age-old question with a valid scientific approach – facts not opinions.”

The research concluded what men and women have long suspected, it’s the ‘v’ shaped men, with broad shoulders and narrow hips, which tend to have all the luck in courting.

But going a step further, researchers found that penis size matters too. And the overwhelming message from the study group was the bigger the better.

“We’ve found that penis size did influence a man’s sex appeal, and it was just as important as height, which is a well-known factor in male attractiveness,” Professor Jennions said.

But before any readers take drastic action, the researchers found that the law of penis size to attraction levels only applies to the Adonisis of the world, with larger penises only considered more attractive on the more athletically shaped.

“To put it bluntly, if you are short and pear-shaped, a large penis is not going to increase your attractiveness,” Dr Mautz said.

The women were harsh judges, making decisions on a figure’s attractiveness in an average 3 seconds flat, and even faster when viewing less attractive figures.

“Now that’s quick,” Dr Mautz said. “That’s so quick that you can’t really, in that short space of time, consciously go through the pros and cons of each character; that rating is an overall impression of attractiveness, not focused on any particular body part.”