Netrimony: how to find love online
Millions of people around the world have met partners online - either looking for a brief liaison or a full life partnership.
大象传媒 World Service takes an inside look at the world's biggest marriage agency to show how internet dating and marriage-making is changing who we love and the way we love.
Stories from people who had met this way were broadcast on . You can also listen to the .
Rajini Vaidyanathan travelled across India to follow couples who have met in this way. This is her diary.
As part of the SuperPower series I've been looking at the role the internet plays in helping people find love in India.
I've spent time in Mumbai in India speaking to people who've married after meeting a match online - and lonely hearts who are hoping to virtually "click" with someone. But I've also been meeting people who think the traditional - non web - route is the best.
The question I'm trying to answer is simple - how is the internet changing marriage in India, and indeed beyond.
The wedding industry has always been booming in India, so it follows in many ways that the online matrimonial sites are big business too.
There are all sorts of online marriage sites available to those seeking a perfect match.
Shaadi means wedding, and the website - the worlds largest matrimonial service - claims credit for more than 1.3 million marriages.
The company which started out in 1996 has helped to define the online wedding business in India, and beyond. It is widely used by the Indian community abroad, including in the UK and USA.
Its offices in the Wurli district of Mumbai are unassuming for a company with such a global profile. We climb two flights of stairs to enter the office of Gaurav Rakshit, head of business development for the company.
You can watch some of what he told us here:
Netrimony will be broadcast on 大象传媒 World Service's Outlook programme from 8 March 2010. The documentary was broadcast on 10 March 2010.