So many normal people are looking for romance these days, as if a fulfilling home life and a engrossing job are not enough.

It’s as if something is missing in the modern world where internet porn is standard fare for many people. Naturally, the web caters for this perceived lack of sparkle in many people’s lives.

As an example, there is an internet dating service established for the only purpose of enabling married people to commit adultery. It claims to have more than 100,000 members in the UK alone.

A reporter who tried it out gives us this example of a typical “date”.

“I arrange to meet a 41-year-old mother of two who misses “romance and flirting”, in a cafe in two days’ time. … She turns up, a blonde with lipstick on her teeth. She looks furtively around and asks me if I’m nervous. I say that if she stops twitching, I’ll calm down. There is tension in the air like North and South Korea coming together to hammer out a treaty.

“Suddenly the realization of how odd it is to meet a stranger with the express intention of having an affair dawns on me. Romeo and Juliet it is not. … But she is an old hand at this type of encounter and tells me she’s met many men through the site, and that I was probably the only one who hadn’t lied about my age. She tells me she thinks relationships have a shelf life of about ten years before boredom sets in, but that she stays married to ensure her children have a stable home.

“After discussing how mundane marriages become and avoiding questions about my personal life, it’s clear we’re past our sell-by date after ten minutes, never mind ten years. There is zero chemistry. She doesn’t want to discuss her husband, and I feel uneasy talking to her. Despite this, she still seems keen to flirt with me.

“In the end, we agree to part and she wishes me luck and assures me I’ll find the perfect paramour. So much for raging passion. This was like having a meeting with a new accountant with a helping of self-disgust thrown in. For all the glossy, sexy chat and out-of-date pictures posted online, this is the rather tawdry, mundane reality of these adulterous assignations. A pub on a wet afternoon and two people who have little to talk about except whether or not they are going to have a meaningless fling.”

Romance is most certainly isn’t

The big heart-shaped day is approaching and you still haven’t decied on the perfect gift for your Valentine.

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Hershey’s offers a personalized gift that satisfies both the card and the chocolate requirements - and satisfies a sweet tooth as well. Their Perfect Match Chocolate Card let’s you write your own message (up to 24 letters/spaces)and is a solid 2lb of chocolate. Place your order by noon on February 13 for guaranteed Valentine’s Day delivery.

There’s no one who knows your love the way you do, so don’t rely on standard flower arrangements you order by phone. Check out Virtual Flowers for dozens of unique floral arrangements. Imagine her delight when this cuddly plush bear arrives with an armful of lush roses.

If your search for “the one” has extended to the internet, don’t believe everything you read. A new study that will be published in an upcoming Proceedings of Computer/Human Interaction says that online daters often lie about their height, weight and sometimes their age.

According to researchers Jeffrey Hancock,a Cornell doctoral student, and Nicole Ellison, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, profile information on dating websites is often incorrect.

52.6 percent of men lied about their height compared with 39 percent of women. More women than men lied about their weight. Women underestimated their weight 64.1 percent of the time. The results seem fairly stereotypical. Age was not lied about as often, with only 24.3 percent of men and 13.1 percent of women telling a fib about their ages.

Hancock concluded that these online daters were trying to appear as attractive as possible without appearing deceptive.

In my experience, ask anyone for their height and they will tell you they are slightly taller than you would find them if you actually measured. And those who may be carrying a few more pounds than they admit to probably haven’t looked at the scale in some time and are relating a number close to what it said the last time they weighed themselves. But everyone knows how old they are, so if they lie about that, then you can probably consider them untrustworthy.

Although it is understandable that people may make mistakes or fib slightly to appear more attractive, it still means that the person you correspond with may have a different physical appearance than you expect.

The rule for online dating is to make sure you use a trustworthy, reliable and established service and carefully screen anyone you contact. Before meeting an online date in person, take precautions for your personal safety.

Looking for love on all the right Web sites?