Online Love Attracts 1000 In Its First Three Weeks
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday May 16, 2006
WHERE does a lone ranger head for a bit of romance?
Craig Murray, aka RedneckCowboy, looked online.The Mayfield local is one of more than 1000 Newcastle residents to sign up to the Hunter's first regionally-based dating website, sayyes.com.au, in its first three weeks."I'm a security guard by trade so I work odd hours, so it's really hard to actually get time to go out somewhere," Mr Murray, 29, said.The system works on the "photo plus profile" basis of a dating website, but participants can chat online, and perhaps take things further.For Mr Murray, this may include a relationship with Amy Watson, from Maitland.Newcastle based web developer and site owner Christine Eyre said she was surprised by the success. "Local people have embraced it, so it goes to show that there really is a need," Ms Eyre said.The website is free for the rest of the month, after which members will pay a $20 fee.Ms Watson can already attest the path to love isn't always smooth, even when it's virtual. The 24-year-old said of a previous rendezvous, "I have a little boy and he had a little girl, so it was kind of more like a play date."
© 2006 Newcastle Herald