"The Hunger Games" star rose to the top of the list from No. 47 last year on the heels of the box-office smash while buffing her credibility as a quirky, sex-mad young widow in the independent film "Silver Linings Playbook," AskMen editor in chief James Bassil said.

"Overall, there's a sense that she's a little more authentic than other actors," Bassil said, adding that the public still knows too little about the 22-year-old actress to form a negative opinion.

"She's fresh because we haven't seen her all over the gossip pages for the past three or four years," Bassil said.

Lawrence bumped last year's winner, Sofia Vergara of "Modern Family" fame, down to No. 12, while reality star Kim Kardashian plummeted to No. 98.

The poll surveyed 2.4 million readers asking them to vote on which celebrity they would choose as a prospective partner, according to the website, which is a unit of News Corp. The top 99 are then compiled into the annual poll.

Rounding out the top five were actress Mila Kunis, model Kate Upton, R&B star Rihanna and "Crazy, Stupid, Love" actress Emma Stone.

AGE NO ISSUE

Bassil said that lots of publicity often correlates to higher desirability ranking from men, but too many headlines can leave men looking elsewhere.

The most notable drop was socialite Kardashian, who fell 90 places from last year's No. 8 ranking.

"Kim Kardashian is petering off and basically dropping off the list at this point even as she's become more visible," Bassil said.

Youth also appears to have taken a backseat in men's tastes as this year's rankings feature a handful of women over 40.

"We've seen that increasingly over the past two or three years," Bassil said. "Like most things in life, attractiveness is extending into middle age ... Who knows? In 20 years we could see 60-year-olds on the list."

Those over the age of 40 on the list include U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, 48; comedienne Sarah Silverman, 42; actress Lucy Liu, 44; and British actress Rachel Weisz, 42.

New Yahoo! President and Chief Executive Marissa Mayer was the only business executive to make list at No. 59.

The full list can be seen at www.askmen.com.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant)

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