Online dating industry to grow by 25 pct in 2010

Melbourne: With the increasing popularity of online dating, analysts have predicted that the industry is likely to experience 25 percent growth this year. There are numerous dating sites that enable singles to look for romance by tailoring requests in terms of ethnicity, physicality, religion and sexual orientation.

The Australian online dating industry has already experienced a 5 per cent increase last year and is expected to grow by another 5 to 10 percent this year. A survey of more than 3000 people by a dating website found that 50 percent had tried online dating, while 10 percent met their partner on the internet. Business analysis group IBISWorld predicts the industry to earn almost 100 million dollars from subscriptions and advertising in 2010. IBISWorld senior analyst Edward Butler said niche sites were becoming more user-friendly. "Based on religion or interest, they will do a lot of that work before you even sign up and reduce the effort," a news daily quoted him as saying. ANI