On the East coast, Jennifer Stewart of the Toronto Star (Toronto, ON) interviewed Professor Michael Norton (Harvard University), who has recently conducted research on the effectiveness of virtual dating, and Kim Hughes, a spokesperson for Lavalife which is currently adding virtual dating on its site.

“Virtual dating allows people to interact with others without hiding behind a profile,” said Professor Norton. “People want to the opportunity to meet someone online, before committing their time and money to an in-person date,” agreed Kim Hughes, “This helps people get to know each other first, before making that commitment.”

Tomlinson had several singles meet through OmniDate’s virtual dating application on TangoWire.com, a large network of popular dating sites.  So what did the users think?

“Yes, I would totally recommend it to a friend,” said Holly. “Absolutely - It’s a fun experience and what do you have to lose!” confirmed Sabrina.

“Our aim is to provide a complete solution of communication tools to dating sites,” explains Ravit Abelman, co-founder of OmniDate, “We want to make it easier for our clients to offer a range of dating options to their users.”

“Our members love the new chat,” says Shaun Wolfe, CEO of TangoWire, an online dating network of over 3,700 websites and millions of members, “We are very pleased to see OmniDate expand their offering. We were already using the virtual dating application, and replacing our existing chat with OmniDate’s new tool allowed us to bring all communication technology under one roof.”

Recent survey reveals that online daters regard both communication tools – virtual dating and chat – to be important in the dating process. Nearly three-quarters (72.5%) of survey respondents confirmed that they use both tools. Usage patterns highlight the difference; virtual dates tend to last substantially longer than chats, with the proportion of virtual dates lasting over 60 minutes being almost twice as high as that of chats. According to scientific research, communication tools can matter greatly in the dating process.

A study conducted by Professor Michael Norton of Harvard University and his colleagues revealed that virtual dating helps singles align expectations, and results in greater affinity for each other and more successful face-to-face dates in the real world. (Professor Michael Norton will present his study findings this week at the upcoming Internet Dating Conference in Los Angeles.)

“Having a large database of users is important, but so is having the right set of communication tools to successfully explore that database in search of a potential relationship,” says Ravit Abelman, “Otherwise, a database is just an illusion of choice.”

TangoWire provides OmniDate’s virtual dating to millions of its members across its vast network of 3,700 dating sites.

Here are are the key highlights of this single day virtual dating event:

• 100% increase in traffic; see the immediate spike in traffic on the Alexa graph below

• 50% boost in same day sales with strong results continuing in the days following

• 20% boost in overall new registrations showing there is real market curiosity

NewFriends4U.com introduces 3D virtual chat.

“I believe nothing makes people happier than having close personal relationships,” says Anne Reynolds, founder of NewFriends4U.com, “and I am very proud to be able create so many wonderful relationships for our members. Now virtual dating is taking it to a whole new level!”

In a recent user survey conducted by OmniDate, respondents overwhelmingly agreed that virtual dating is an important part of an online dating experience.

read more

TangoWire ran a “Free vDate Thursday” event last week and saw its numbers go through the roof (see the Alexa graph below).

Members of the TangoWire community were able to go on an unlimited number of virtual dates without paying an additional fee. TangoWire’s purpose for running the “Free vDate Thursday” event was to encourage members to take control and initiate virtual dates for free with other singles, increasing their chance at finding love … and its members certainly took full advantage of the generous offer!

TangoWire is committed to providing an awesome online experience for its members and we are thrilled to be working with them.

Read the Press Release and then go to Tangowire and check it out!

It’s huge!

Check out these stats assembled by Online Schools from a number of sources, including Reuters and The Washington Post.

We took a sample of 10,000 virtual dates and compared the duration of dates across various venues.

Surprisingly, some virtual dating venues appear to be consistently associated with longer “Time on Date” - and the difference can be quite substantial, as much as 40% in some cases - suggesting that the virtual dating ambiance can significantly impact the dating experience.

Also interesting to note that people tend to enjoy their “in-door” dating venues (e.g., a coffee shop) longer than the “out-door” venues (e.g., a park).  Hmmm, I wonder why.

So, where do you like to go on your virtual dates?

OmniDate has made it to the final round of the iDate Awards competition in the category of Best New Technology. The iDate competition highlights companies and technologies that represent the best and most innovative aspects of the Internet dating and matchmaking industry.

OmniDate has developed a 3D virtual dating product that can be plugged in quickly and easily into any dating or social networking site.