Some women go for men with brawn, Emma Watson appears to prefer brains.

The Harry Potter actress, who recently split from her boyfriend of 18 months Brandon Green, has been enjoying quality time with American businessman Ryan Walsh.

The pair have been seen soaking up the sun in Venice and having dinner with friends in the Italian city, The Sun reports.

“Emma loves a bloke who can match her intelligence,” a source said. “She is a very clever woman and her boyfriends have always been very brainy.”

“As well as Brandon, who is an executive at his dad Philip Green’s company, she has been linked to tech CEOs William “Mack” Knight, Brendan Iribe and Brendan Wallace.

“Ryan is a very intelligent man too and Emma seems to be enjoying spending time with him.

“They have known each other for some time and now she is single she is making sure she enjoys herself.”

Walsh has held a number of roles within the tech world and three years ago founded a tech consultancy firm in LA.

Watson studied English literature at Brown University in the US and did a year back in England at Oxford’s Worcester College.

She will be returning to lectures this year after signing up to a Masters in creative writing at Oxford.

Any British students hoping for a date are likely to be out of luck though, as Watson has said she much preferred American men because they are more upfront.

“English guys are very well put together,” she explained. “They dress really well and they are well mannered. But they are also very restrained.”

“Usually, in the courting situation, I’m used to being, first of all, ignored for the first two months of the ritual. And then maybe they’ll acknowledge my presence. Then they’ll probably be a little mean to me. And then, maybe we’ll, you know … whatever.”

She added: “I arrived in America and I remember a few nights into Brown (University), this guy just being like, ‘I like you. You’re great. Let’s go on a date. Let’s do it.’

“I’m like, ‘I’m sorry, what just happened? This is like a huge culture shock for me.’

“They’re very open and very straightforward.”

They aren’t perfect, though, as Emma pointed out: “They wear flip-flops and I don’t know if I like that.”