French looking for l'amour online
TORONTO, Feb 21 (Reuters Life!) - The French already have Paris and the language of love and a new study shows they are among the highest users of online personal sites.
They had the highest proportion of Internet users visiting the sites in December last year, followed by Britain and the United States, according to comScore Networks, a global Internet research firm.
"The French might have a more flirty and upfront behavior, so maybe that's part of it," Bob Ivins, managing director for comScore Europe said in an interview.
The company, which collects information on the Internet industry through a representative panel of 2 million users worldwide, studied visits to the top five personals sites in the three countries.
It found that 22 percent of Internet users in France, age 15 and older, visited dating Web sites in December 2006, followed by 20 percent in Britain and 13 percent in the United States.
Another possible reason for the popularity of online dating in France is the fact that the leading Web sites only charge men for contacting someone through the service, while women participate for free.
"It takes into account a more chivalrous attitude toward (dating)," said Ivins.
The online dating industry is also more mature in the United States and Britain, which could explain why the phenomenon is still gaining momentum in France, according to Ivins.
The study showed the most popular personals site in France was MeetIC, with 2.3 million French visitors in December, followed by 1.4 million British visitors for DatingDirect.com and 4.5 million U.S. visitors for Yahoo! Personals.
Ivins noted that usage of dating sites seems to peak in July in Britain and the United States and in September in France.
The study also found that the online dating industry is not controlled by one dominant player. While France's MeetIC had a broad 50 percent reach, Yahoo! Personals in the United States and DatingDirect.com in Britain only control about a quarter of the market.
"There are people who move back and forth between a bunch of sites and there's a churn to the business," said Ivins.
"If their business is really connecting people to have a lasting romantic relationship then they want people to come and go and meet the person of their dreams," he added
