A playful, physical style of flirting invites short term, casual relationships, but polite and sincere flirting could draw a long term partner.

In short, a flirting style can influence the type of relationship you enter into, says a new study.

The findings come from a study of over 5,100 people looking at the way they communicate their romantic interest, reports the journal Communication Quarterly .

They filled out a questionnaire about the way they flirted and their relationship history, reports the Telegraph .

Jeffrey Hall, of the University of Kansas in the US, found there were five different types of flirting - traditional, physical, sincere, playful and polite.

While everybody exhibited aspects of each style, for most people one dominated over the other and this could have an effect on the type of person and relationship you attract.

Hall said that if you were unhappy with the type of person you were attracting then it might mean you should modify your flirting technique for more success.

"Flirting does tend to reflect personality and we are not saying you can change your style completely but some modification may help you find the right person for a relationship," he said.

"In some ways, the very early part of developing relationships is important to the success of long-term relationships, including marriages," Hall concluded.