Tami cannot believe her luck

Tami's story of her whirlwind Internet romance with husband-to-be Chris bowled over the judges of the Bride of the Year competition at Wedding and Homes magazine.

Wedding and Homes Editor Chris Prunty awards Tami and Chris

A trainee nurse at Sheffield University, Tami was, in time-honoured student tradition, doing everything to avoid getting stuck into revision.

Surfing the Web seemed like an attractive option to hard labour and, for once, skiving paid off. She found dating site match.com and met the man of her dreams.

Tami's tale catapulted her to the top of the 2000-strong Bride of the Year entry list. She bagged the coveted title and walked away with £30,000 worth of goodies.

The editor of best-selling Wedding and Homes Christine Prunty is in no doubt why Tami won:

"This was a very modern and fresh story of love and romance. Yet despite the unconventional way they grew to know each other, Tami and Chris have formed a very traditional, strong and well-adjusted partnership."

Disco Diva meets Mr English

Although she says she was not looking for a partner, once under match.com's spell, Tami found it difficult to leave.

"I got carried away and thought it would be fun to have a go, " she says.

She did, entering her profile details and what she wanted in a man.

Of the 10 profiles she was offered in return, one took exceptionally long to download. But it was worth the wait.

There was Chris in all his glory - a senior tutor in computer science at Nottingham University. Tami was smitten.

The e-mails started flying. She used the alias Disco Diva, he was Mr English.

After three weeks of "talking" over the Internet, he still had not seen her but had fallen for her zest for life. She was hooked on his intelligence and wit.

So by the time they finally agreed to meet, the two felt like soulmates. And on 29 May 1997 - less than two months after they had first "met" - Chris proposed.

Setting a trend

Tami and Chris are fully aware that Internet romance still holds a certain nerd image for some people. Even they were reluctant to let on to friends and family that they had met this way.

Nonetheless, the indications are that it is growing in popularity, from specialised dating sites to open chatrooms.

Three months ago, match.com was registering 10,000 new members each week. Now the figure stands at 20,000, with total membership set to hit one million by September.

Far from being nerds, members are in the main young, educated professionals on good incomes. They say they just do not have the time to go on dates.

Trish McDermott of match.com says: "People choose to find a partner online because it's fast, fun, affordable and because it works."

One of the main reasons it works is, as Trish puts it, because it is dating from "the inside out." People form meaningful online relationships before they ever see each other in person.

There are of course pitfalls to online dating. You can be strung along by liars. There is also the diffculty of falling in love with someone on the other side of the world.

However, both Tami and Chris are keen to spread the word of all its many advantages - and it is not difficult to to see why.

Preparations for their big day on 9 September are well in hand thanks to the competition prizes. Tami won her entire weddng outfit, the flowers, cake and a trip to the Maldives. A dishwasher and fridge freezer were also thrown in for good measure.

Once all the excitement of being matrimonial celebrities is over, it is off to Sri Lanka for a well-earned rest.