Courting for real & virtually

Hmm. Are we seeing a trend? Is online romance moving from dating sites like Match.com to alternate-reality games like SecondLife.com? Will you too be attending your child's wedding in a virtual world? On the same day I read in WebProNews.com that dating site subscriptions are declining and in CNET about a transatlantic couple who met as owners of adjacent virtual properties in Second Life and are now living together in England. CNET also mentions a couple that met in "City of Heroes" , now planning their real-life wedding, "but at the urging of a lot of friends in the 'City of Heroes' community, they're planning in-world nuptials as well." Some people will soon be meeting in social-networking sites, then move on to alternate-reality games to court and wed. Later they'll have to decide whether to have virtual or real children!