Our desi-pardesi Shetty might be preserved for posterity in the confines of a museum. That's what the vox populi in UK say.

Men in the UK found the actress hot enough to push her name to the No 1 in a recent survey carried out by Campaign For Museums.

The survey asked respondents who the most influential person to be preserved as an icon of our times should be.

Shetty came in a close third in the overall list where Kate Moss topped the list.

The influence of pop culture was clear, with politicians appearing further down the list than actors, models and stars of reality television.

Celebrity Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty was joint third with Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Tony Blair was not evenmentioned. Male respondents put Shetty in first place, while the over-65s chose Mandela.

Shilpa is delighted to hear the news and is grateful to all her fans and supporters for their abounding love and affection.

The actress is all set to write a cookery book, launch a perfume in her name, do a Broadway musical, release a feature DVD on yoga and even launch a chain of restaurants abroad.

Now that's a big list!