Brits are among the ugliest people in the world… according to an exclusive website which only allows ‘beautiful’ people to join.

 

Less than one in eight UK men (12 per cent) and just three in 20 women (15 per cent) who have applied to BeautifulPeople.com have been accepted as members.

Existing members of the website rate how attractive potential members are over a 48-hour provisional period, when applicants upload a recent photograph and a short personal profile.

They are rated by members of the opposite sex, who have four options to describe how attractive they think the hopeful is – ‘Yes definitely’, ‘Hmmm yes, OK’, ‘Hmmm no, not really’ and ‘NO definitely NOT’.

Swedish men have proved the most successful applicants, with two-thirds (65 per cent) of those putting themselves forward being accepted.

Norwegian women are considered the most beautiful with more than three-quarters (76 per cent) making the grade.

Since the website was opened to UK members 295,000 people have applied, with only 35,000 being approved.

The website was founded in 2002 in Denmark and since then it has spread to other countries – becoming available in the UK in April 2005.

The ‘elite dating site for beautiful people only’, went live across the globe on 26 October this year. Over the past two weeks, the site has rejected nearly 1.8million people from 190 countries.

From the total number of hopefuls, only 360,000 new members have been admitted – meaning five out of six applicants (83 per cent) have been turned away.

Sweden, Brazil and Norway are proving to be the most beautiful countries overall, with applicants from Germany and the UK among the least successful.

Beautiful People managing director Greg Hodge said: ‘Asking why British people are doing so badly is a tough question.

‘It hurts me – I’m English.

‘I think there is less emphasis on appearance in the UK than overseas. If you go to some countries they are very into how they look – very health and body conscious.

‘The UK attitude is a bit more about kicking back and relaxing, and having a few drinks in the pub after work.’

Defending his website against accusations it is ‘ridiculously superficial,’ Greg added: ‘The concept of beautiful people is founded on one basic principle of human nature – which is we all, at least initially, want to be with someone we are attracted to.

‘You are not going to be standing on the other side of the bar from someone going “Guys, look at that woman’s beautiful soul.”

‘Our founder Rob Hintze was using a lot of mainstream dating websites back in 2002 and finding nothing he was interested in – so he thought “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a beautiful site with lovely looking women?”

‘We don’t try to define beauty, but what the members do is give an accurate representation of what society’s idea of beauty is.

‘Also applications are smartly rated – in considering whether you are allowed to join the judgements of people from your country are worth more than those of people elsewhere.

Maybe Brits have done so badly because they have higher standards?
‘I would say Britain is stumbling because they don’t spend as much time polishing up their appearance and they are letting themselves down on physical fitness.

‘Next to Brazilian and Scandinavian beauties, British people just aren’t as toned or glamorous.’

Founder Robert Hintze, who started the cyber community in 2002 in his native Denmark and has been expanding it since, said: ‘BeautifulPeople is the most genuine of all sites. Why not make a place for all these people so focused on looks?

‘Despite considerable backlash against us, the numbers don’t lie – we are catering to a very clear demand. BeautifulPeople.com may be morally ugly to our critics, but our growing success is a very beautiful truth.’

More than 10,000 serious relationships have begun through BeautifulPeople.com – with more than 400 beautiful babies born between members.

And more than 80,000 romances can be credited to the website.

BeautifulPeople.com now has a global membership which exceeds 540,000 and receives up to four million visitors a day. Wherever the site has launched, it has sparked controversy and debate.