(CNN) -- To most owners of the new iPhone, the voice-activated feature called Siri is more than a virtual "assistant" who can help schedule appointments, find a good nearby pizza or tell you if it's going to rain. She's also a she. Siri answers questions in a part-human, part-robot voice that's deep, briskly efficient and distinctly female. (At least in the U.S. and four other countries. In France and the UK, Siri is male.) People describe the app using female pronouns. Her gender has even prompted some users to flood blogs and online forums with sexually suggestive questions for Siri such as "What are you wearing?" (Siri's baffled response: "Why do people keep asking me this?")
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Studies have shown people generally find women's voices more pleasing than men's
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Scholar: "It's much easier to find a female voice that everyone likes than a male voice"
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In Germany, some BMW drivers refused to take GPS directions from a woman
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Tech companies may avoid male computer voices because of HAL from the move "2001"
"A lot of tech companies stayed away from the male voice because of @placeholder," he said.