The brooding Roman general Maximus in the movie Gladiator has been voted the sexiest film character of all time, in a poll published yesterday.

The avenging hunk, played by the New Zealand actor Russell Crowe, topped the voting in the survey of readers for the film magazine Empire. More than 5,000 voted.

The top choice for a female star was Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi, in which the actor Carrie Fisher appears in a skimpy gold bikini top.

At number three is Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in Batman Returns, which sees her cavorting in a rubber catsuit.

The Star Wars saga has another entry, at number seven, for Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi Knight played by Liam Neeson, and Jane Fonda's space strip as Barbarella made number six.

Characters from four decades ago are in the top 10: Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe) in Some Like It Hot.

The top 10 are: 1. Maximus in Gladiator (2000). 2. Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi (1983). 3. Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992). 4. Indiana Jones in the sci fi trilogy (1981/84/89), starring Harrison Ford. 5. Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot (1959). 6. Barbarella in Barbarella (1967). 7. Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999). 8. Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). 9. Trinity in The Matrix (1999), Carrie-Anne Moss. 10. Catherine Banning in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Rene Russo.