Cruise and Holmes went public with their relationship in April

Cruise and Holmes, who starred in US teen series Dawson's Creek, announced in April they were dating.

So the move to prospective husband and wife has been swift, intense and quite public.

Cruise made his feelings for Holmes patently clear on an edition of the Oprah Winfrey TV show, jumping up and down on the soft furnishings in an exuberant declaration of his love for Holmes.

The 42-year-old, previously married to actresses Nicole Kidman and Mimi Rogers, performed the same antics on a subsequent edition of the Jay Leno show.

'Terrific lady'

"It's a thing that I wish for everyone. I like hearing good news and I like hearing about people when they're happy. She's a terrific lady and great lady," said the actor.

Holmes, 26, has displayed a similar level of commitment to Cruise on public occasions, including when she visited London to promote Batman Begins.

Earlier this month, she said she was "excited" about taking on Cruise's belief in Scientology.

Cruise has been heavily promoting new film War of the Worlds

The actress admitted her attraction to Cruise came much earlier on, when she had a poster of him on her bedroom wall and romanticised about marrying him one day.

"We all keep dreaming, and luckily, dreams come true," Holmes said.

But the sudden outpouring of their relationship in the public arena prompted cynical cries that it was nothing more than an elaborate stunt to push their summer blockbuster vehicles.

Holmes dismissed the critics, saying: "There are a lot of people really, really happy for us. It's really exciting.We are so happy."

Genuine

But on the same occasion she said there was "nothing official to report" in terms of wedding plans.

Cruise dismissed claims of a publicity stunt as "ridiculous".

Holmes' big release this summer is Batman Begins

"Something magnificent has happened to me and something extraordinary, and I'm so happy I just can't restrain myself," he added, making it clear this was indeed a whirlwind romance.

Proposing at the Eiffel Tower in the city of romance may silence many cynics.

There were more declarations of love after the engagement was announced - not to mention a sparkling rock on Holmes' finger.