Username

To have a profile, you need to start by finding yourself a username that suits you, your tastes and personality. You could use your name, although you'll have to add a random number or adjective to it in order to differentiate yourself from the other few thousand Caroline1979s or SexySarahs. Alternatively, you could choose a more personal username...some we found online include foxylady, sweetypie, and youandmetogetherforever (well, why not?!).

Once you're sorted with a username, you'll need to spend a bit of time filling out each of the boxes and answering all the questions. Age, occupation, weight, height, eye colour, hair colour, religion, education, annual income...everything you've always wanted to know, but have never dared ask (you don't have to reply to all of these). There are very sophisticated questionnaires on some sites that build up a proper psychological profile. It can seem a little cold, but by gathering together all this information, there's a greater chance of being contacted by someone who's compatible and who shares the same interests as you. The good news is that it works both ways and you've not wasted any time: you know all about him and he knows all about you.

Once your profile is filled out and online, anyone can see your profile. Which could mean you need to be a bit economical with the truth from time to time!