A team of French researchers has found that women who listen to music with romantic lyrics are more likely to agree to date a man who asks them out.

The study, published this month in the journal Psychology of Music, involved 87 undergraduate female students who told researchers they were single.

The women sat alone in a waiting room while one of two French songs played - one which had romantic lyrics, the other which had neutral lyrics.

After three minutes of listening to the music, each woman was invited to sit with a 20-year-old man, who other young women had judged as having "average" physical attractiveness.

The pair then compared two varieties of biscuit.

Following the discussion, the man asked the woman for her phone number and invited her out for a drink.

"My name is Antoine, as you know, I think you are very nice and I was wondering if you would give me your phone number," the man said to each woman.

"I'll phone you later and we can have a drink together somewhere next week."

He then waited 10 seconds and gazed and smiled at the woman.

Of the women who had been listening to romantic lyrics, 52.2 per cent provided the man with their phone number.

But only 27.9 per cent of women who had been listening to the neutral lyrics agreed to his request.

The psychologists say other studies have shown background music can affect pro-social and consumer behaviour, but their study is the first to link it to "more intimate affects".

They say further research need to be done as the experiment only examined the effects of one romantic song.