Less people tuned into to watch an intimate interview with Tom Cruise - then a chat with former child star Macaulay Culkin.

Just seven million people tuned in see the 'Mission Impossible 3' star - whose fiancee Katie Holmes has just given birth to the couple's first child - open his heart to Diane Sawyer on US TV network, ABC, last Friday (14.03.06).

Last month, an interview with 'Home Alone' actor, Macaulay Culkin - who is 12 years past his career peak - attracted 300,000 more viewers.

The primetime Cruise special came in 48th place in the ratings.

Meanwhile, the results of an online poll which asked voters who they thought was responsible for the actor's bad PR are being eyed suspiciously.

Respondents were asked to decide whether Cruise's sofa-jumping antics on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' had damaged his image or if it was the media who were to blame.

According to the results, 84 per cent blamed the press.

However, publicist for the people behind the poll, Alexis Collado, said: "We found out more than 14,000 of the 18,000-plus votes that came in were cast from only 10 computers!

"One computer was responsible for nearly 8,400 votes alone, all blaming the media for Tom's troubles."

"There is even a chance they wrote a special program for the sole purpose of skewing the results, rather than casting the votes by hand on a computer."