LONDON: An overwhelming majority of British women believe a refrigerator is more useful than the man in their lives, according to a survey published on Thursday. A whopping 87 per cent of women interviewed for the survey, which was carried out on behalf of the country's frozen food industry, reckoned their fridge was more indispensable than their partner.

The survey of 1,000 British women also found that they make unconventional use of their fridges. While, in general, the majority use it to store bread, vegetables, potato crisps and the like, some of those questioned admitted keeping tights, compact discs, candles and even money there. The cold is reputed to improve the quality of compact discs, prevent runs in tights and increase the burning time of candles.

Racist graffiti

NICE: Dozens of swastikas and Nazi slogans were found scrawled on the walls of two synagogues, a museum and businesses in the southern French city of Nice on Thursday, police said. The symbols and slogans, written overnight in black marker pen, appeared a day after racist slogans were found on the walls of a local school, they said. ``I am outraged. My heart is broken.

This is a deep wound and the entire community is upset,'' said Maurice Niddam, president of the Nice office of CRIF, the umbrella group of Jewish community organisations.

Nice mayor Jacques Peyrat condemned the vandalism. The Communist party, in a separate statement, called it ``revolting''. Police said they had opened an investigation. The graffiti included slogans such as ``Heil Hitler'' and ``Jews out of Europe'', drawings of gallows and Stars of David, and references to Zyklon-B, the gas used by the Nazis to murder Jews in wartime concentration camps.

Cyber beauties

CARACAS: Venezuelans like to say their country is famous for two things: oil and beauty queens. Now they want to launch some of those beautiful faces and shapely figures into cyberspace.

The Miss Venezuela pageant is starting an internet page that will feature photographs of this year's 29 contestants in swimsuits. Cyberspace aficionados will be able to vote for their favorite, though their choices won't count toward electing this year's winner on September 12. That will still be up to the regular judges. But pageant organisers will crown a Miss Internet.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.