Want to find the love of your life? Looking instead for some pals to explore with local downtown with? Yearn to synch up instead with a fellow diehard sports enthusiast?

No matter what your interest is, the Internet most likely will have several if not, well, more than several targeted niched resources for your dating needs! But hang on for a sec - prior to dashing off willy-nilly, you need to learn:

Before You Begin - Who's Behind The Screen?

Got some vivid magic marker? Okay, write down the following on your neon sticky note and stick it everywhere you'll need to remember:

You have no idea who is really behind that monitor

I'm quite serious here. Remember, the Internet allows for anonymity; anyone (and I mean ANYONE) can make up an online persona for themselves that would even fool their dear little old sweet mother.

Ponder upon it...you've heard in the news often enough how sexual predators will lurk on kiddie chats, right? The same problem emerges on online dating sites...while a vast majority of people might be honestly searching for a terrific relationship, there are the shower-mold-of-humanity ickness who are searching only to defraud people.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try online dating, of course! It simply means you should be very careful and educate yourself about both the wonderful benefits and the dismaying pitfall of internet dates. Dating Rules will give you many more tips for your dating pleasure.

With that out of the way, let's now begin by:

Step 1 - Dating 101, The Big Sites

If you're relatively new to the Internet dating scene, you probably want to explore the big sites first. They are:

• Match.com - More than 21 million subscribers (huge number of potential dates), unique personality-matching, geographic, mutual interest and keyword searching, free Match.com messenger, simple method for categorizing friends, winks, quick access to your email history, more. Get a full review here.

• eHarmoney.com - More than 21 million subscribers (huge number of potential dates), unique personality-matching, geographic, mutual interest and keyword searching, free Match.com messenger, simple method for categorizing friends, winks, quick access to your email history, more. Get a full review here.

• Friendfinder.com - Powers more than 15 niche singles communities, encompassing ethnic, adult, hobby and religious sites. Chat rooms are 3-D and are broken down into demographics such as the BayArea room, the Dallas room, the Hot Tub, etc.Get a full review here.

Dating can encompass for more than generic sites, of course. The next point to consider is:

Step 2 - Ethnic/Religious/Hobby Dating

Perhaps you yearn to socialize with folks who share your same values/hobbies/background etc. Most likely, you'll be able to uncover sites like:

• Big Church.com - Targeted exclusively to the Christian faith...and when I say exclusively, I mean just that - you can search for Christian singles in over over 218 Christian faiths. Get a full review here.

• Jewish FriendFinder - Part of the FriendFinder network, which means it has the money to provide cutting-edge dating tools. Highly recommended - Jewish matches include Conservative, Gerim (convert), Orthodox, Reconstructionist,* Reform, Secular/Unaffiliated and more. Get a full review here.

• Black Singles - This site focuses on bringing black singles together. Anonymous messaging, black dating message boards and more are there for you to try free.Get a full review here.

• Asian Dating - Asian dating services focus on the Far East culture. Many of them have online communties in which paid members can interact via forums, chats, etc. Get a full review here.

• Hobby Dating - Sports, cooking, geeking, fitness, reading, soap operas and more. Get a full review here.

Neat, huh?

Step 3 - For More Information

Other great tips/background on online Internet dating include:

• Before Dating Online - datings dos/don'ts

• Newbie Online Dating - newbie online dating

• History of Online Dating - long long ago and far far away...

And if you'd like to get some goodies about online dating, check out:

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