Dating in Cyberspace

DAILY NEWS -- Nov 13 -- Marc Lesnick organizes three or four internet dating business conferences a year in places such as Beijing, Amsterdam and Miami.  "In Europe, the business generates between $200 and $250 million," says Lesnick, "and in Asia, between $40 and $100 million."  Whatever your nationality, religion, occupation or fetish is, it seems there is an online dating service tailor-made for you.  "If you want to meet someone local, you've got the big sites like Match.com and eHarmony," says Mark Brooks, online editor and blogger of Online Personals Watch, a Web site devoted to Internet dating industry news. "If you look in a smaller niche site, keep in mind you'll probably be jumping on a plane," advises Brooks.  Internet safety expert Larry Burris talks to parent and teacher groups all over the world about keeping people safe on the Internet. He calls his presentations "Safety in the Cyber Village," and says dating online is not much different than traditional dating.  Thanks to online dating services such as TRUE.com, ensuring user safety is becoming a top priority for many matchmaking companies. TRUE offers criminal background checks, as well as marital background checks, and the company says it will prosecute anyone who commits fraud on their Web site. "Women need to know that when they go on a date, they're not talking to a criminal or someone who is married," says Brooks.