Common wisdom dictates that to really live you have to do one brave thing every day.

Others rock climb, sky dive, bungee jump, or engage in risqué activities.

Me, I Internet date.

As a writer, there's no doubt I have an advantage. Internet dating, and email in general, has heightened everyone's writing skills. Even lawyers - corporate ones, at that - can seemingly be witty in prose. Will wonders never cease?

But they aren't all good. You'd be amazed the amount of post-30 professional men who use smiley faces regularly. And I won't even get into the ones who use 'winks'. And think it's sexy.

Over the pond, Internet dating is so prevalent that people are suspect if you meet your partner in the conventional way; drunk in a bar. In the US, a whole host of parasitical sites have developed to further the Internet experience. Sites like Dating-Profile.com, ProfileHelper.com and E-Cyrano.com all offer "profile makeovers". Some will even handhold you through the initial contact stages, making sure you aren't the guy asking for the three-way in email two.