RENTON, Wash., Feb. 1, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Valentine's Day is fast approaching along with thoughts of romance and past loves. Classmates Online, Inc. (www.classmates.com), a leader in online social networking, polled its community that connects millions of members with friends and acquaintances from school, work and the military and found that 78% of respondents have reflected on their first love or high school sweetheart when thinking about their love life and 58% had thought of them during the last 12 months.
Classmates.com 2007 Romance Poll results include:
* 78% of respondents reflect on their first love or high school sweetheart when thinking about their love life. * 77% of respondents think more people will turn to the Internet to find love in 2007. * 64% of respondents said they would like to be contacted by an old flame. * 58% of respondents thought of their first love or high school sweetheart in the last year. * 40% of respondents had used the Internet to look up or reconnect with an old boyfriend or girlfriend. * 31% of respondents said they have been contacted by an old flame in the past five years. * 30% of respondents think Valentine's Day is a time to think about loved ones. * 22% of respondents had met their true love in school (K-12).
"When you're searching for a long-lost love or friend, Classmates.com is a great place to start because it has more than 40 million adult members which really increases the odds of finding the person you are looking for, whether you know them from school, work, or the military," said Dennie Hughes, relationship expert. "Friendships based on common bonds and experiences are special. When someone who contacts you truly knows you, there's none of that pretending that comes with regular dating sites."
Today on Classmates.com members can pre-register themselves for Classmates Dating, which is slated to debut later this year.
"Classmates.com is all about real names, real people and real connections," said Mark Goldston, chairman and CEO of United Online, Inc., parent company of Classmates Online, Inc. "It's free and easy to register, list yourself to be found and immediately search the Classmates.com member database for friends and acquaintances. It's safe because your contact information is never revealed unless you decide to share it. And you never know when you could receive an email from a long-lost friend that will change your life."
Differences between men and women were revealed in their answers to the question, "What would you most like to receive on Valentine's Day?" The number one answer for 49% of male respondents was "a kiss." But "flowers" was the number one answer for 27% of female respondents, followed by "a kiss" for 24%.
Editor's note: Real-life love reconnection stories and interviews are available for media upon request.
About Classmates Online, Inc.
Classmates Online, Inc., founded in 1995 and based in Renton, WA, is a leader in online social networking. The company operates Classmates.com (www.classmates.com), connecting millions of members throughout the U.S. and Canada with friends and acquaintances from school, work and the military. Its Classmates International subsidiary also operates leading community-based networking sites in Sweden, through Klasstraffen Sweden AB (www.stayfriends.se), and in Germany, through StayFriends GmbH (www.stayfriends.de). Classmates Online is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq:UNTD).
The Classmates Online, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1385
About United Online(r)
United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq:UNTD) is a leading provider of consumer Internet and media services. The company's Content & Media services include social networking (Classmates) and online loyalty marketing (MyPoints). The company's Communications services include Internet access (NetZero, Juno), email and VoIP. United Online is headquartered in Woodland Hills, CA, with offices in New York, NY; Fort Lee, NJ; Renton, WA; San Francisco, CA; Schaumburg, IL; Orem, UT; Erlangen, Germany; and Hyderabad, India. For more information about United Online, please visit www.untd.com.
Note to Editors: United Online and Classmates are trademarks or registered trademarks of United Online, Inc. or its subsidiaries. The names of any other companies, products and services used herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.