From the region that brought you the mouse and the microchip comes another commodity: men. A new report shows Silicon Valley is one of the few major metropolitan areas in the United States that has a glut of single men.

Recent census data shows 5,400 more unattached men than women in California's Santa Clara county, where a disproportionate number of men are drawn to jobs in software engineering and other high-tech fields. The data, which was compiled by the San Jose Mercury News, shows that Silicon Valley ranks ahead of even Anchorage, Alaska, which has a surplus of about 3,300 single men.

New York City, by comparison, has a glut of 537,311 single women, and Los Angeles has 127,087 more unattached women than men.

And these (Silicon Valley) men "are not your beer-guzzling, belching variety", the report said, noting that many make six-figure incomes and spend most of their time in the office.