A year-long online search for the world's funniest joke is over. The winning rib-tickler emerged from two million ratings of 40,000 entries, submitted by people from more than 70 countries.

The LaughLab experiment was run by psychologist Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. The data showed clear national differences in humour, Wiseman says.

People from the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand preferred jokes involving word plays. American and Canadians found gags involving someone else looking stupid most entertaining. And many European countries preferred the surreal entries.

Overall, Germans gave the LaughLab jokes the highest ratings. But they did not express a strong preference for any type of joke. Wiseman's team travelled widely to examine global humour. They found that verbal jokes are common around the world, except in one country. "It is very, very difficult to find joke-telling in Japan," he says.

The results suggest that people from different parts of the world have fundamentally different senses of humour. "Humour is vital to communication and the more we understand about how people's culture and background affect their sense of humour, the more we will be able to communicate effectively," says Wiseman.

Quack quip

The LaughLab results might also help scientists attempting to get computers to create truly entertaining jokes, he says. And they should also provide tips for people. The team's analysis has also revealed the world's "funniest animal" - the duck. "If you're going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck," Wiseman says.

Visitors to the site were asked to rate jokes on a five-point scale. Of ratings for the world's second funniest joke, 64 per cent were a four or five. But an entry submitted by a psychiatrist in Manchester, England, triumphed, with 65 per cent:

A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator, in a calm soothing voice, says: "Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: "OK, now what?"

This joke won because it appeals to people in many countries, to men and women, and young and old alike, the data analysis shows. "This one had real universal appeal," Wiseman says.

However, about one third of jokes submitted to LaughLab were rejected by the moderators for being offensive or rude. Acceptable jokes had to be deemed suitable for a 10-year-old to repeat.