Throwing Caution To The Wind

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE -- Aug 30 -- A recent study of 740 women with online dating ads showed that the women exercised great caution when communicating with strangers and meeting them for the first time. However, for the 568 women who did finally meet their dates, 30% reported having sex on the first date and 77% of those didn't use condoms. Mark Brooks, the editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com, which covers news about the business of online dating, said people hoping for romantic relationships sometimes project what they're looking for onto virtual mates they may not know much about. He called it the "halo syndrome." "It can be pretty high emotion and high passion on that first meeting," he said.