A lot of single men and women these days are looking for new ways to explore and pursue relationships. And what better way to do so than through online dating personals? Where else can you find such a huge network of diverse people, a lot of them as hungry for love and intimacy as the next person, than through an online dating service?

Dating services online have seen a massive rise in popularity over the past decade as more and more people use the internet to meet lovers and pursuerelationships. It’s an exciting way to approach dating and can be very rewarding.

Here’s a review of the top six online dating services out there.

Online Dating Service #1: Match.com

Match.com is a subscription-based online dating service and has been around a long time. It’s a fun site that’s loaded with helpful features. It has a clean search tool that gives you all the information you need to see if you want to communicate with certain people and you can instantly chat, leave voicemail, or even “wink” at the person if he or she is online.

One of the best features of this online dating service is the age-match facility, where you can specify the age-range of who you want to meet. That way, you don’t have to deal with 50-year-olds if all you’re interested in are 25-year olds. It’s a wonderful place to start if you’re just beginning to explore online dating personals and is equally helpful for established players too.

Online Dating Service #2: Yahoo! Personals

Yahoo! Personals is another hugely popular online dating personals site that boasts thousands upon thousands of members, all looking for the perfect match. Like Match.com, there are fees involved and some people think they are quite high compared to other online dating services. But Yahoo! Personals does offer some free online dating features and you can browse other profiles to get an idea of who else is on the lookout for love. It’s an interesting service and with the amount of people involved, your chances of finding the right person are considerably enhanced.

Online Dating Service #3: AmericanSingles

AmericanSingles is a great, well-designed and fully functioning online dating personals site that has quite a few great and helpful features. Chief among these are the chat and communication features, which are sure to get you some cool interaction.

You can “hot-list” people and even “tease” them, in addition to emailing and inviting to chat. Speaking of chatting, AmericanSingles has a very good chat system that allows for better exchanging of ideas – and who knows how far you can get on in a day! Oh, and if there’s one piece of online dating advice that you can heed it’s this: don’t let the name AmericanSingles mislead you. There are singles from all over the world at this site!

Online Dating Service #4: eHarmony

eHarmony is a very unique online dating service. The site isn’t so much about quick profiles and fancy picture comparisons than it is science. If you sign up and pay the fee, you will be asked to take a lengthy personality survey to determine what you’re all about.

After that, eHarmony matches you with other people who have the same interests as well as complimentary features about them. With eHarmony, you know you’ll be dealing with people who are totally committed to online dating since they’re willing to pay a fee that is a tad more expensive compared to other online dating personals. Your chances for finding the RIGHT one at eHarmony are certainly increased. It’s definitely one of the more interesting dating services out there.

Online Dating Service #5: Webdate.com

Webdate.com is a huge online dating site that offers much in terms of number of members. Users come from all over the world in what has to be one of the most diverse collections of singles on the planet. Unfortunately, you can’t do personality matches or anything, although you can browse other profiles easily and get in touch with members faster than other dating sites can offer. Watch out for the advertising; other than that, this is another extensive and potentially rewarding site.

Online Dating Service #6: Friendster

Friendster.com isn’t so much about online dating personals than it is a community of friends. But there are features that allow you to tell people you are single and looking out for partners. There are millions of Friendster users who are looking for love and relationships and the extensive profile feature can really help you out. Searching is relatively easy and finding someone with matching likes/dislikes isn’t that hard. You can exchange videos, blogs, and a number of other things too. Plus, if it doesn’t work out, you can always remain friends on this site. Friendster is all about relationships, whether intimate or platonic. Good site, lots of possibilities.

If there’s one piece of online dating advice you need to know it’s this: a dating site is a tool, not a mask. A solid online dating rule is never to betray another person. Follow that online dating tip by being true to yourself and who you are, and one day you’ll find the person who’s right for you. Happy soulmate searching!