NET
IMPERATIVE -- Aug 3 -- One in three Internet users say they would now
use the Web to meet a potential date. Nielsen//Netratings questioned
3,400 people (58% men/42% women) and found that the Internet is now the
joint third most popular method for getting a date. Finding a date at
work was an equally popular method, while pubs/clubs and through
friends were the most favoured methods overall, with 53% each. Online
dating was also comfortably ahead of more traditional dating agencies,
classified ads and speed dating events in terms of popularity. Alex
Burmaster, European Internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings said:
"Internet dating and personals websites are already attracting over
three and a half million people per month in the UK, and our research
shows it's growing at an enormous rate - both DatingDirect.com and
Match.com have almost doubled their audience in 12 months." 33%
admitted to lying to some degree on their profile, with women more
likely to do this than men. FULL ARTICLE @ NET IMPERATIVE

Mark Brooks:
Pretty much what you'd expect. Online dating will always take a
comfortable back seat to (the preference for) real world introductions.
In reality, as the science of personality profiling comes of age, it
may well eventually overtake bars and clubs for the sheer volume of
introductions. The future of online dating rests on the laurels of
those pioneering the next generations of personality profiling and
communications methods (i.e. webcam based dating).