HERE’S an intersting find. The Reader’s Digest

recently conducted an offbeat worldwide social experiment to find out how people in bustling cities would react when they come across a seemingly abandoned mobile phone. Would they return the phone to the owner, or would they simply pocket the phone and walk away?

The magazine got reporters in 32 countries where the Reader’s Digest is published to “drop” their phones in heavily used public places and observe from a distance as they call in an attempt to “retrieve” the phone.

The magazine concluded that the average rate at which phones were returned per city was 68 per cent. Simply put, two-thirds of people who picked up a “lost” phone had an instinct to help.

The experiment also found that age and income had no bearing on the subjects’ response and that women were slightly more likely than men to return the phone.

Ljubljana in Slovenia came out tops with 29 of the “lost” phones returned, followed closely by Toronto in Canada (28 phones returned) and Seoul in South Korea (27 phones returned).

Here comes the interesting find that I mentioned earlier. Of the 32 cities, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong rated the lowest, with only 13 phones returned from the 30 that were “dropped”. Instead of expressing disbelief, my colleagues and I could only laugh out loud.

Mobile phones are like magnets that attract people. And a more alluring phone is not likely to be returned when it’s lost.

Undoubtedly, Malaysians do like to change their mobile phones as newer models hit the market, says a handphone reseller friend. As there is a secondhand market for mobile phones, the temptation to take possession of “lost” phones is evident, he adds.

Nevertheless, a generalisation that Malaysians aren’t honest should not be concluded with just this experiment, as there are many Malaysians out there who would make that extra effort to help others in need. We have read news of lost bags, lost laptops, lost passports and even considerable amounts of lost money returned to their rightful owners.

So, if you were to find a sleek-looking mobile phone by the roadside, what would you do?