EUGENE–In the new hit film "You’ve Got Mail," leading characters Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly find love on the Internet. But can it last?

Yes, according to a recent study at the University of Oregon.

"It seems counterintuitive, but people may have just as good a chance at achieving deep, meaningful and intimate relationships online as they do in-person," says Ava Rosenblum, who conducted a four-year study on Internet relationships for her dissertation project. She completed her Ph.D. program in sociology at the UO this fall.

In her study, Rosenblum looked at online communities known as Multi-User Domains (MUDs), in which people develop intimate relationships that often extend offline. She tracked four volunteer couples who met on-line and are now in committed relationships. She also selected 10 individuals for interviews who were either married or living with someone they met on the Internet. The participants agreed to store their "real-time" conversations, which they then passed on to Rosenblum.

"What I find in these conversations is a level of spontaneity, creativity and intimacy that is quite similar to face-to-face interactions," she says. "The data shows that human beings are extremely creative and resourceful in using this new medium to enhance their long-distance relationships."

For example, Rosenblum found communication patterns in which couples express intimacy, such as "countdowns," to their next face-to-face visit and "verisimilitudes" in which couples describe an environment and pretend to be in the same location.

But how can couples fall in love without meeting?

"People may feel freer to take risks in their online communication in terms of self-disclosure because they aren’t face-to-face," says Rosenblum. "So, as their relationships develop over time, they are willing to share intimate information about their thoughts and feelings."

Rosenblum says couples she interviewed said they fell in love with their partner’s minds and by the time they met face-to-face the physical wasn’t that important.

"Like any medium, if someone wants to exploit this tool people can get hurt. But we haven’t heard much about the positive potential of the Internet for promoting intimacy," says Rosenblum. "A tool that can result in two people knowing each other before they actually meet is a significant development in this communication revolution and one that bears attention."

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