Online video-chats making blind dates a thing of the past

Melbourne, Mar 10 : With the advent of video dating services that allow potential partners to see each other via webcams, the trend of blind dates and the uncertainty that comes with them are coming to an end.

An increasing number of video dating services are appearing on the web, with an Australian service called Skyecandy leading the charge.

Founder of Sydney-based Skyecandy, Melonie Ryan, said that the newly launched dating service worked with Skype, the online video and audio chatting service.

Skyecandy users can sign up for up to 10 five-minute online speed dates in a row, with partners chosen on their age, basic details and location.

Users then spend a minute between dates rating participants on their friendliness and whether they''d like to exchange details to chat again.

Ryan said that so far, the service had attracted about 18,000 users, with online daters in Australia and the United States the fastest to adopt it.

One user Solicitor Kristyna Drummond-Hay, 27, said she tried the service after finding it while looking for Skype software.

She said online video dating was "nerve-racking at first", but very soon she started likening seeing her online dates live on her computer screen.

"I''ve been on dating sites like RSVP and Oasis Active and people write what they think a woman wants to hear, but in front of your face you can pick up on their mannerisms and the tone of their voice and judge how genuine they are," the Courier Mail quoted Drummond-Hay as saying.