Time and Circumstance of the applicability of the hadith on the attributes sought in a perspective marriage partner.

Living in the west, it is impossibly to avoid looking at pretty women or their pictures even for a second as those are everywhere (schools, malls, media, even on computer pop-up ads). Islam on the other hand commands choosing a pious woman over the other three attributes that a woman may possess. Would that criteria apply in such a situation as well or there can be some flexibility in it for a man in choosing a women with a ltttle more emphasis on looks than on deen? What would be the punishment for doing so?