PARIS - French shopaholics hitting the streets of Paris could now be going home with a man in their shopping baskets.

Nestling in the heart of one of Paris's main shopping districts, the 'adopt-a-guy' (adopte-un-mec) boutique opened its doors last week promising a high-end shopping experience for any Parisians searching for Mr Right.

Eligible bachelors dressed in quirky costumes posed in mock toy boxes - a whole row of Kens waiting to meet their Barbies.

Meanwhile crowds of women browsed the boutique to see what was on offer, posing for photos with guys who caught their eyes.

The idea comes from French dating website 'adopteunmec.com.' Created in 2008, it invites men to sign up and post profiles online for a cost of one euro (S$1.60) a day.

Women are then free to trawl the profiles and get in touch with whichever man catches their fancy.

The men in costumes in the shop windows are all signed up to the website and passers-by can contact them through the site, but, with a seating and drinks area downstairs, people can also meet and chat on the shop floor.

The system appears to work - organisers say that at least one visitor to the shop on Tuesday (Sept 11) did not go home alone.

Adopteunmec.com are keen to dismiss any sense of objectification saying that the environment is light-hearted and the aim is to have some fun.

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