Reviews of International Online Dating Services

WHAT YOU'LL FIND: Free to join and post your profile, include a unlimited number of pictures and you'll have a 7 day free trial with full access. Free online “Secrets to Relationship Success” book, True magazine and dating tips. Become a member to make contact through messages and chat rooms.

CHANGES WE'D LIKE TO SEE: (Suggested July 2004) The site is not fully Netscape browser compatible, the ‘Terms of Use’ and ‘Code of Ethics” windows popup into an unscrollable window. It’s hard to agree to these items if you can’t read them. You must go to the ‘Help/FAQ page to read them. More of a tour area, with more complete explanations of the service. Easy to find explanation of which countries citizens are subject to the criminal background check.

WHAT WE FOUND: Twitter is your free mini blog to shout to friends and the world. Free to join, once you’ve signed up your miniblog/comment post account your Twitter is ready for your wortds. You’ll have only up to 140 characters to say what you’re doing, what’s on your mind, whatever. Twitter is free. Twitter can be fun. I’m trying to figure it out as you can see on this page: http://twitter.com/alovelinksplus I do appreciate the use of Twitter in that it’s not two-way conversationally based, you have something to say, say it. Keep what you say to yourself and the friends you allow to see or open your comments up to the public timeline area of Twitter for all to see. You’ll want to look for friends to share Twitter with to make this service usable. Visit the home page to see what others are saying, doing, posting. Twitter reminds me of the search engine Alta Vista (I think, maybe it was AskJeeves) back years ago when they had a live search feed where you could see what others were actually searching for, real time. You can click on someone’s Twitter nickname and visit their own home page, miniblog and catch up on everything they’ve said (when it’s public), add them as a friend, and most fun of all, see their Twitter group and visit them too. I don’t use the IM’s that Twitter will work on yet so I have to visit my Twitter home page to post my comments. Not a hardship but if Twitter was in a stand-alone form it would be better. Have some fun give this miniblog service a try. At least visit me and see if I’m still updating regularly.

WHAT YOU'LL FIND: Twitter is a free miniblog service, capable of being added to your SMS phone service (in some areas) as well as added to your Instant Messenger (not all IM’s supported yet). Use Twitter as a way to post what you are doing, how you are feeling, anything really, to your group of Twitter and IM friends and the world. Features and improvements are expected to change Twitter for the better soon. Visit the Twitter help and FAQ pages for current details.

WHAT WE FOUND: When you arrive at 2ofaKind you really have found a well-made Matchmaking service! You select what is important to you in a mate and they do the rest. Getting e-mailed matches to what you want saves time over the usual "browse the ads" at other services. Free first match report and other matches when someone picks your profile are sent to you for free so you can see who is looking you up. When you join you get a customized report of matches e-mailed to you every week and you can send messages to anyone here, free members can only respond to the messages that have been e-mailed to them.

WHAT YOU'LL FIND: Free to fill out the Match Kit and post your profile. Free to respond to messages that you receive or become a member and start the conversation yourself! Take your time and fill out the Match Kit when you get here, you'll like the results!

WHAT WE FOUND: UBLove.com is available in Korean, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese (simplified) and Chinese (traditional) as well as English languages with translations available so you can meet members from other cultures and that speak different languages easily. It’s free to post your profile, search other members and send winks to say you’re interested in someone and receive messages, but to send messages or reply to messages you need to be a preferred member. As an upgraded member, which we suggest strongly, you’ll also have the Instant Messenger to chat with other members, access to chat rooms and you will have ‘first in line’ priority for the offline, real world, parties that are scheduled often. That alone makes UBLove work best out of many of the dating services we’ve reviewed. Meet online and then meet offline in a safe group of people that all belong to the same service. After you meet face-to-face, rush home and view their online profile. Fun!

WHAT YOU'LL FIND: Free to join, preferred membership recommended. Instant messenger service, chat rooms and offline parties scheduled often. Translation service available makes this a great place to meet people across the world and of different cultures.

WHAT WE FOUND: uDate makes meeting online fun again! Join for your 2 week free trial that allows you full access including the uDate mail and the uWhisper chat system! uDate's monitored chat areas and complete personal profiles make this one of the Internet's best meeting places. The Profile you will complete to begin your free trial membership is just enough for you to talk about what you are looking for in a partner without revealing too much, but you can include as much information about yourself as you like. The uDate messaging system maintains your privacy, and once you start looking for friends and romantic partners, the match page will tell you how compatible the person is for you based on your defined criteria. Be sure to start with the uDate Tour if this is your first visit, you'll be amazed at all the features that are available to you, designed just to make you at ease and having fun meeting new friends. Many members surf in every day and are looking for chat partners, so it's best to join in on the chats and you'll meet more people than just by browsing the ads. The Who's Online feature combined with the exclusive uWhisper chat system really adds to the fun of finding new friends and serious romantic partners. With new members joining every day, uDate is the leading site for people meeting people. The 2 week free trial allows you to post your personal ad, send and reply to messages, join the chats just like a paid member! uDate has been voted the aLoveLinksPlus Best Dating Service Of The Year for 1999 and 2001.

WHAT YOU'LL FIND: 2 Week Free Trial to see all the features offered, Who's Online, uWhisper Chat, picture personals and Compatibility Matches.

WHAT WE FOUND: Urban Wave's free service offers plenty of ways to meet someone. Start with posting your own personal ad, after all, it's free to post your profile, to make contact and reply to messages. Then take a few minutes to look at all the places to chat and discuss your opinions with others. You will have access to the Urban Wave Instant Messenger service (a fun way to chat with others online at Urban Wave), a free you@urbanwave.com email address, all chat rooms, talk boards and more. When joining you'll be asked which neighborhood you'd like to belong to, this helps to identify what type of relationship you are interested in: The Burbs = Online Friendships; The Village = Dating and Romance; The Strip = Intimate Encounters. Complete your join profile, chat with others and have a great time at Urban Wave!

WHAT YOU'LL FIND: Free dating service, Instant Messenger, free email address and chat rooms. Includes straight and same sex personal ads.