It appears that the reputation IT employees have for being paled-faced geeks more interested in computer games than real-life social interaction is unfounded.

In fact, research suggests that a woman who is hooked up with a bloke from the IT department is likely to have a better time this Valentine’s Day than if she was dating man with different skills.

A poll of 1,769 male employees who use the workplace experience day website, www.IntoTheBlue.co.uk, found that IT employees were the best at choosing the most unique and thoughtful gifts.

According to the poll, 73% of IT workers said they were planning something special for Valentine's Day, with more than half saying they had been looking into gift ideas for more than a month.

Musicians were found to be the second most romantic and 69% said they were confident that their partner would love their Valentine's gift.

They were also the profession that was most likely to make their other half a gift with 53% saying that they planned to sing on the day.

The least romantic men by profession were personal trainers. As many as 53% said they were not sure what to get their partner this year, and 11% said they were not even going to buy anything.

Of the personal trainers who were not going to get their girlfriend a present, nearly half (48%) said they were not planning to stay in their relationship much longer.

In order to sustain the mood romance, however, employees working in IT might best be advised to talk as little as possible to their date about the day-to-day tasks they perform at work. It may be a case of actions speaking louder than words.