Finding Love on the Internet: It Works

It was one of many firsts for the couple.

On their first date, they traveled down the Nile and shared their first kiss.

Lavalife Joins Skype

Early this year, Lavalife, an online dating service, teamed up with Skype to allow its members to connect with other singles over the Internet for free for a limited time.

Lavalife, founded in 1987, began as a mass technology-based dating business that allowed users to connect by voice communication through Lavalife Phone.

Today, it has more than 600,000 active members, exchanging more than 1.3 million messages every day, according to its Web site.

Lavalife's pay-as-you-go service integrates Lavalife Phone, Web, and mobile technology, which allow users to chat, text-message, connect live one-on-one, and have live video communication over the Internet.

Lavalife is enlisting the use of Skype services that will allow members to connect online through chat, phone, and video communication for free until the end of the year.

"Online dating has become multidimensional. It's more real life," said Marina Glogovac, CEO of Lavalife. "In 1987, what existed then were personals and classifieds."

"We understand the power of voice," she said. Glogovac said the convergence of different technologies played a role in online dating.

"It's enabling consumers to have a full experience," she said.

Being single is fun, and it's a journey, she said.

"In 1987, being single was different than today. There are over 96 million singles in the U.S., and there has been a change in how singles feel about themselves."

Today, technology has enabled singles to have another platform to talk, she said. "[A] forum which has become more accepted and more mainstream," Glogovac said.