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Men love online chat-ups
E-male: Men are on the write lines for online love |
Men are virtual Romeos who love nothing better than chatting someone up online, according to a survey.
They are five times as likely as women to flirt online, Hotmail researchers found.
However, when it comes down the nitty gritty, men it seems just can't hack it.
 E-mail is now an intrinsic part of people's lives  |
| Natalie Taylor |
Hotmail analysed more than 38,000 uncensored e-mails sent by 100 volunteers over a two-month period.
Other key findings include:
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Top 10 e-mail subjects |
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Conversation - 34% |
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Socialising - 15% |
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Work/study- 9% |
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Computer chat - 9% |
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Jokes - 8% |
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News of family/friends - 6% |
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Football - 3.4% |
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Travel/holidays - 3.4% |
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Music/film - 3.4% |
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Politics/current affairs- 3% |
Almost half of us (46%) have more than one e-mail address and we use them to deal with different areas of our life, for example, one for personal and one for work use.
Natalie Taylor, Hotmail marketing manager, said: "E-mail is now an intrinsic part of people's lives and far from inhibiting everyday communication between friends, family and colleagues, the study reveals it's actually precipitating them."
The survey also identified a new category to add to the UK's myriad social class system - the e-mail animal.
One in six (17%) of those in the survey fell into this group. They ran their whole lives through e-mail, in some cases receiving hundreds of e-mails every day.
Size matters: Men over-estimate their inboxes |
Those men who fall into this category have perhaps been reading about the successful relationships that have sprung from e-mail friendships.
However, they should always bear in mind the tale of Englishman Ian Fowler.
He fell in love with mother-of-three Debbie Lynn Horton after meeting her on a chat site.
They continued the romance by telephone for nine months and made plans for a wedding.
But six days after Mr Fowler, 38, a photocopy machine engineer from Enfield, sold his belongings and arrived in Georgia he discovered he had been duped.
His girlfriend took his $1,400 savings, leaving him broke and stranded in a motel.
"The next time a woman asks me for my e-mail address I'll refuse to give it to her," he said ruefully.
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07 Jun 99 | Sci/Tech |
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Your email experiences |
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08 Jan 99 | Sci/Tech |
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uk.leads.europe @e-mail |
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28 Nov 98 | Education |
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Teachers lacking e-mail connections |
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20 Nov 98 | UK Politics |
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MPs@not.in |
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10 Nov 98 | Office Life |
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That joke isn't funny anymore |
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13 Aug 99 | Education |
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Students 'used e-mail to cheat' |
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31 Aug 99 | Sci/Tech |
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Hackers strike Hotmail |
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