MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New York the politest city; London half courteous

Brazil's Sao Paulo the second most populated city in Latinamerica, figures as the most polite megapolis in the region according to a good manners survey which rated New York in first place.

London which at one time was famous for the politeness of its residents has dropped behind Berlin, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Mexico City, reveals The Times based on a report from the Readers' Digest, which has New York top of the list with 80% of votes, followed by Zurich, 77% and Toronto, 70%.

The survey shows that New Yorkers, particularly in the Manhattan area have dramatically modified their habits since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, turning them into extremely polite and good mannered.

The survey which is limited to 35 cities in the World considers three conditions: if residents pick up papers which have been littered in the streets; how many times shoppers say "thank you" and how many times locals open the doors to visitors in public places.

The rating shows London and Paris have dropped to position 15 with 57% approval and figure behind Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid and Prague.

Former New York mayor Ed Koch is quoted by the Readers Digest stating that since September 11, "New Yorkers are more polite".

The 35 cities list only considers three cities in Latinamerica: Sao Paulo figures fifth with 68% approval, followed by Mexico City in position 9 with 65% and Buenos Aires, 15 with 57%. Apparently in Sao Paulo even thieves and pickpockets "have good manners are say thank you".

Bombay is considered the least polite city of the list with 32% of votes and Bucharest in position 34 is the worst rated in Europe.

Katherine Walker editor of Readers Digest said the "world politeness" survey included 2.000 people in 35 different countries. People under 40 proved the most courteous, while the over 60, are the least polite.

The Readers Digest World courtesy list follows: 1-New York (80%). 2-Zurich (77%). 3-Toronto (70%). 4-Berlin (70%). 5-Sao Paulo (68%). 6-Zagreb (68%). 7-Auckland (67%). 8-Warsaw (67%). 9-Mexico City (65%). 10-Stockholm (63%). 11-Budapest (60%). 12-Madrid (60%). 13-Prague (60%). 14-Vienna (60%). 15-Buenos Aires (57%). 16-Johanesburg (57%). 17-Lisbon (57%). 18-London (57%). 19-Paris (57%). 20-Amsterdam (52%). 21-Helsinki (48%). 22-Manila (48%). 23-Milano (47%). 24-Sydney (47%). 25-Bangkok (45%). 26-Hong Kong (45%). 27-Ljubljana (45%). 28-Jakarta (43%). 29-Taipei (43%). 30-Moscow (42%). 31-Singapore (42%). 32-Soeul (40%). 33-Kuala Lumpur (37%). 34-Bucharest (35%). 35-Bombay (32%).