Leading article: It makes you wonder

So, nul points for Britain in the vote for the Seven Wonders of the World, in which an estimated 100 million people from around the world took part by internet.

Fair enough. The Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, Jordan's Petra and Peru's Machu Picchu deserved to win. But there does seem to have been an echo of the dark side of the Eurovision Song Contest about the way certain countries made rather more effort than others to get to the top of the list. The governments of Jordan and Peru made inclusion of their sites in the top seven a matter of honour; and while there aren't that many Jordanians, it seems they were able to draw on broader Arab solidarity.

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And pity the Cambodians. It looks like the great temple of Angkor Wat didn't make it because the impoverished Cambodians aren't netted up enough.

There's no stopping China when it comes to that - they can outvote anyone. Still, it's pitiful that the British didn't even try to throw Stonehenge into the fray. Admittedly, the treatment of this treasure is a scandal but, hey, no need to let the world in on that. As it was, the line from London was if "people want to vote, it's up to them". There's inspired leadership for you.

Of course, some people may say flag-waving is not our way. But if the Prime Minister wants to start reviving ideas of Britishness, and finding some unifying symbols, why not adopt those menhirs on Salisbury Plain?

Stonhenge was there before England, Scotland and Wales were invented, for one thing. And as one of the world's more populous and netted up countries, there's no reason why we shouldn't nudge it into the top of any competition that relies on a free vote. Now that would be a wonder.