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?

The early stages of romance and dating are when a couple gets to know one another. Through dating you find out each other’s likes and dislikes, favorite foods and pastimes. It’s a time to start sharing more of who you are with each other for deeper understanding. But what if one of you isn’t telling the truth?

Most people tell “white lies” occasionally, others may lie to impress and some are pathological liars who feel compelled to lie all the time. According to experts, there are some ways to spot a liar.

*Eye Contact Normally a person will make eye contact with you at least half of the time during conversation. Looking away during specific parts of a conversation could indicate lying.

*Voice Changes A change in the pitch of the voice, stammering and stalling, or changes in the rate of speech in a conversation.

*Body Language Fidgeting, putting hands over face or mouth, turning away from you and acting uncomfortable.

*Becoming Defensive If challenged, someone who is lying may become extremely defensive and agitated.

*Contradictory Statements Sometimes the person who is lying will make statements that just doen’t mesh, sound fishy or completely contradict each other. In fact, if you think someone is lying, let them talk. Generally they will give too much detail and eventually a liar will trip himself up by saying things that just don’t make sense or ring true.

None of these methods of spotting lies is foolproof. For instance, some people naturally avoid eye contact more than others and some liars will make a point of making eye contact to convince you of their sincerity. You have to trust your instinct and if you feel a lie has been told or that you are being misled, try to establish the facts of the situation. No relationship can survive without trust and a lie can destroy that bond forever.