Thanks to the late 20th century technology, Maria of Denmark and Martijin of Holland met on a chatline. For months they've talked and sent letters to each other with the help of their computers as they found themselves falling head over heels in love. It was then that they decided to meet in the real, not only the virtual, world. It was not easy to arrange as the young man and his lady were separated by 700 very real kilometers, but the date was a success and Maria and Martijin have been living together happily ever since. They've created a home page to let the world know how they've found happiness via the Internet and introduce couples who've met under similar circumstances.

感谢20世纪末的科技，丹麦的玛丽亚和荷兰的马丁在线上相遇了，几个月来通过电脑上的聊天和通信，他们发现自己不可救药地爱上彼此。接下来他们决定在线下见面，而不是仅仅在虚拟世界。要让这个年轻人和他在现实世界里相距700公里的女朋友见面可不是件容易的事，但是约会很成功，玛丽亚和马丁从那时开始便幸福地生活在一起。他们做了一个主页让世界知道他们是怎样通过网络找到幸福，为那些在相似情况下认识的人作介绍。

Throughout history men and women have used a variety of means to find each other. Internet romance, according to some, is a bizarre method, and to others it is a natural way for the 90's to meet potential mates.

自始至终男人和女人用各种不同的方法去找到对方，网恋对于一些人来说是很奇怪的方式，但对于另一些人比如90后来说则是一种很正常的方式。

Romances formed on the Internet follow a characteristic script. The development of emotional intimacy is a long process, sometimes taking several months. "Love at first byte" is rate although there are examples. The initial light exchanges, whether by e-mail or in chat rooms, are generally followed by increasingly self-revealing topics, and then after a while, the two strangers perceive each other as a true friend. Hearts open, and avalanche of e-mail crosses cyberspace carring literary quality, and electronic messages are even enhanced with verses and virtual gifts(flowers, kisses, animated pictures). Could any heart with romantic inclinations resist ? When you reach for the mouse with sweaty palms and butterflies in the stomach to look in-box for new mail----there's just no way to escape the fact----love has arrived.

互联网上的爱情有一个独特的方式。感情亲密程度的发展是一个长期的过程，有时候需要好几个月。但是“爱在第一个字节发生”也有可能。最初的轻松交流，不管是通过邮件还是在聊天室，通常都是一些对自我表露的话题，一阵下来，两个陌生人成为真正的朋友。敞开心扉，邮件带着文学素养像雪片一样穿梭过网络空间，电子信息被诗文和虚拟礼物（鲜花、亲吻、动画图片）加持。还有哪颗心能抗拒这种浪漫性地表达？当你手心冒汗，内心忐忑地拿起鼠标检查有没新邮件时，爱情已经到来的事实已经无从抵赖。

How does a cyber romance vary from a really life romance ? Perhaps one significant difference is that communication plays such a large part. Words that convey feeling have enormous effect. While before a real date we fix our hair and our clothes, on the Internet we polish our intellect, imagination and personality. In essence, the sequence is reversed----first we show our inner beauty and only after it has won victory does the veil fall off the physical vehicle of that personality at the time of that first meeting in person.

网恋和现实生活中的爱情有什么区别?也许最大的区别是交流方式的不同，表达感情的语言有巨大的影响。在这之前现实中的约会之前我们会打理头发、着装，在网络上约会我们只需要修饰我们的智力、想象力和个性。本质上顺序是反过来的，我们先展示了内在美，只有内在美赢得胜利之后，第一次见面，外在的东西才有机会展露出来。

It is popular topic in cyberspace to debate whether or not true love can develop merely on an intellectual level, without physical attraction or the familiarity of the other's appearance. To put it another way : Does the physical appearance of the man or woman play a part in the relationship if, through the exchange of thoughts and feelings, they already fell in love ?

在网络空间，有一个很流行的话题，没有身体上的吸引和对方外表的熟悉，真爱是否能在精神层面发展？换句话说：如果男人或女人通过思想和情感的交流，已经爱上对方，那么那么他们的外表在这段关系中起作用吗?

Many say it is against the nature of love to be deprived of the sense of sight, the look, the movement, and the body language being present. There are those, of  course, who favor Internet relationships claiming that the intensity of the emotional relationship that develops in such a way is superior to the mere stirring of the flesh.

很多人说，失去视觉、外表、动作和肢体语言的表达是违反爱的本质的。当然，也有一些人支持网络关系，他们声称以这种方式发展的情感关系的强度比单纯的肉体刺激要好。

Whatever the opinion may be on cyberlove, it must be said in favor of the Internet that it puts people in touch with those who they otherwise would never have met. I would never have suspected that the first person I met by e-mail would be a German chimney sweeper, with whom, after a year of correspondence, albeit not romantic, a common interest still exists.

不管人们对网恋的看法如何，网络有一点是值得肯定的。那就是它让人们与那些原本永远不会认识的人有了联系。我从来没有想到，通过电子邮件遇到的第一个人会是一个德国的烟囱工人。经过一年的通信，尽管并不浪漫，但我们仍然有共同的兴趣。

It is silly to perceive the Net as a demon, when we determine how we meet  its challenges. While there are those who can use the Net to their advantage extracting useful information, there are those who become addicts losing common sense, hopping from chat room to chat room, writing piles of e-mails full of lies to chosen victims, and whose virtual reality, the flirtations, become part of their everyday lives, as if a disease. One thing is true----the Net is very addictive. According to the confession of a multiple substance addict, it was easier to give up cocaine than the IRC.

当我们决定如何应对它的挑战时，把网络看作一个恶魔是愚蠢的。虽然有些人利用网络提取信息,有些人上网成瘾失去常识，从一个聊天室跳到另一个聊天室，写一大堆通篇都是谎言和邮件去骗人，在虚拟和现实中调情，成为日常生活的一部分,就像一种疾病。有一件事是真的——网络很容易让人上瘾。根据一名吸食多种毒品的瘾君子的供词，戒除可卡因比戒除网瘾更容易。

In any case, keep your eyes open off-line as well. Turn off the machine and go to a dance or a club, because most women still expect to be courted in a real, old-fashioned, and romantic way.

任何情况下，线下也要保持警惕。关机去跳舞或者俱乐部，因为绝大多数的女人仍然期待被真实的、老式的和浪漫的方式追求。