Nytimes: online dating market stats

- Online dating is a $976 million annual industry in the United States, according to estimates from Marketdata Enterprises, a research firm

- Match.com, with an estimated 1.2 million paid subscribers, had revenue of about $365 million in 2008, Mr. LaRosa estimates.

- EHarmony, meanwhile, with about 656,000 paid members, had estimated revenue of $216 million that year

- ScientificMatch.com, charges $1,995.95 for a lifetime membership; chemistry.com is $50 for a one-month membership, compared with about $35 for Match.com.

- both ScientificMatch.com and Chemistry.com are refinements of an idea originally developed by eHarmony.com.