According to the survey, exactly half of the adults polled believe that the ancient belief still holds true: "Women gossip more than men."

And, tellingly, more female than male respondents agreed with this perception (52% vs. 47%).

But when belief gave way to personal experience? Suddenly it was raining men -- 64% of the men (vs. 44% of the women) said they relish hearing about the latest scandals and celebrity doings (although they didn't admit to it reaching the level of obsession).

By contrast, 53% of the females polled (vs. just 35% of the men) agreed that "Gossip and especially anything to do with celebrities is B-O-R-I-N-G -- leave me out of it."

And when females did admit to an interest in gossip, they consistently cited the more serious and newsworthy items.

But before we start a battle of the sexes here, let's look into the surprising findings of the survey first.

Gossip is such a guilty pleasure that men and women alike have a hard time admitting they indulge in it. Of the 1,016 American adults polled, 75% agreed that "Americans are obsessed with Hollywood gossip."

And 74% believe "Americans adore personal scandals such as JFK's alleged affairs or a celebrity in jail."

But when it came time to count themselves among the gossip-lovers, respondents tended toward denial.

"Love gossip?" they said, in effect. "Not me!"

Just 17% of the sample admitted to being interested in Hollywood gossip and only 14% said they were interested in celebrity gossip.

Similarly, while 38% said that Americans are obsessed with gossip about the British royal family, only 10% counted themselves in that group.

And while 37% declared that Americans were obsessed with Washington gossip, just 8% said that they follow these stories.

"This survey confirms the remarkable power of person-to-person communication," says Marian Salzman, Chief Strategy Officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide and co-author of the newly released Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence and Create Demand (Wiley & Sons, 2003).

"The most trustworthy information source of all? Restaurant reviews from friends. After that: local news. This tells us that while people may take information from nationally branded media sources, it's not credible until they process it themselves -- until they convert it to buzz."

And here are some surprise findings Euro RSCG learned:

So who consumes gossip? And which Americans take the next step and make it their own?

Men and women agreed: Gossip is a "bad" thing. When asked to comment on the statement, "There's nothing wrong with gossip -- it's just a natural form of information exchange," only 19% agreed. Almost half (48%) rejected the notion.

Moreover, 53% believe that morality is in decline due to the glamorization of the kind of bad behavior reported about celebrities.

What kinds of gossip do Americans like -- or admit to liking? They claim to like "worthy" items more than meaningless gossip.

For instance, while 29% of respondents are interested in news about Martha Stewart's federal indictment, just 9% expressed interest in her weight gain since the indictment.

The leading relationship of interest is that between Demi Moore (age 41) and her next-generation lover, Ashton Kutcher (age 25).

Only 15% of the sample overall cared about their romance -- but 26% of those aged 18-24 and 24% of 25-34s did.

The power and relevance of gossip will be the topic of a special panel discussion at the July 23 launch party for Buzz at the Tribeca Grand Hotel.

Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence and Create Demand, the new book from marketing veterans Marian Salzman, Ira Matathia, and Ann O'Reilly, has been published by John Wiley & Sons as part of the Brandweek series.

The book provides a blueprint for marketers looking to manufacture the seemingly authentic word-of-mouth to which today's cynical consumer responds to.