Mona Lisa smiling because she was happy, scientists say

The mysterious half-smile that has intrigued viewers of the &to=http://english.pravda.ru/society/2002/03/26/27196.html' target=_blank>Mona Lisa for centuries isn't really that difficult to interpret, Dutch researchers said Thursday.

She was smiling because she was happy _ 83 percent happy, to be exact, according to scientists from the University of Amsterdam.

In what they viewed as a fun demonstration of technology rather than a serious experiment, the researchers scanned a reproduction of the painting and subjected it to cutting-edge "emotion recognition" software, developed in collaboration with the University of Illinois.