Users hooked on to net this Valentine’s

BANGALORE: More and more Asians are turning to the to the Internet in the search for love. A survey on MSN Asia found surprising differences in the ways people used the Internet to celebrate Valentine’s Day — whether for finding a date; ordering flowers or simply sending a Valentines e-card greeting.

The findings from this first ever regional survey revealed some startling differences between the choices of men and women. Online dating was the most popular activity, with 40 percent % of men going for it and closely followed by 31% women.

The number one activity for females was sending an e-Valentine card at 37%; over 14,000 Valentine’s Day e-cards were sent out from the MSN India portal.

Not surprisingly, men lead the way in sending gifts and flowers online (19 percent); with women lagging (9 percent). Koreans lead the way in spending and sending online (26 percent).

Sending Valentine’s greeting via Instant Messaging or SMS services was almost equally popular with men (22 percent) and women (23 percent)

"Around Valentine’s Day, everyone is busy and we’ve seen trends that indicate more and more people are using the Internet to make their feelings heard - and this is reflected in the results our survey," said MSN’s regional marketing director, Rose Leng.

"We’ve seen greater enthusiasm for online dating, shopping, and sending e-Valentines among people who completed our survey, underlining a growing need for quicker, easier ways to communicate about personal matters."

As the Internet population moves to an equal balance between males and females, and with both sexes increasingly busy trying to maintain a balance in their life at home and work, meeting online becomes an increasingly attractive way to find a suitable date. Thanks to improved access to chat forums, it is easy to see why matchmaking has recently taken off on the Internet.

This is clearly demonstrated by the success of Match.com, a leading subscription-based online dating site that is a global partner with MSN, and which has boosted membership across the region from 150,000 to 1.6 million members over the last 12 months.

"Match.com attracts as many as 25,000 new members each month in Korea, Hong Kong and India and the membership mix shows some interesting results," said Ms Leng. "In the 18-25 age group, a significant majority of members (64 percent) are female, however, in the 26-35 age group the balance switches to a majority of males- so ladies start your browsers if you are interested in meeting 26-35 year old men!"