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New website helps lovelorn Londoners find a 'click' for Christmas
Added: (Wed Dec 24 2003)
This is the time of year when single people fret about finding a partner in time for Christmas.
Their anxieties about having no-one to spend the big day with are well-illustrated in 'Love Actually', the box office hit which highlights just how important relationships are at this time of year.
Now, with only a day to go, a new website aims to level the playing field in the love game by making it easier than ever before to get hitched.
Pitched at people in the 18 to 40'ish bracket, www.LondonPlayers.net is a cyber-based lifestyle club called the Playground which offers a fresh alternative to the stigma of using online dating agencies.
Instead of just matching people up, LondonPlayers.net mimics the off-line mating game where people often meet up through shared interests in certain types of music, food, bars, clubs or restaurants.
Players, as members are known, join 'teams' where they can interact with people who have similar interests and outlooks as themselves.
Teams include '30 Something Players', 'Saturday Night Players', 'Singles Players', 'Sex in the City Players', 'British Asian Players,' 'Gucci & Armani Players', 'Gay and Lesbian Players', 'Skater Players', 'Student Players' etc.
Players create their own micro-site, called a profile page, by uploading their photographs, video clips and short biographies detailing their interests, likes, dislikes, favourite clubs, plus details of bars and restaurants where they like to hang out. Other players can then send them private anonymous messages, sign their public Guestbook, vote for them and check out which other Players have visited their profile page.
Those already signed up include students, young professionals, financial services staff, fashion retailers, hairdressers and folk who work in call centres.
A big feature of the Playground is that Players can easily start their own personal forums, called Clubs, for any topic imaginable. Popular Clubs are those based on Players' personal diaries, with DJ’s and celebs using them to manage their fan mail.
The site is the brainchild of London-based Internet entrepreneur Theo Koumis, 35. He said: "There's a lot of Londoners out there keen to meet up with others who share their attitudes to life. They could go to a web-based dating agency, but LondonPlayers.net offers them a much wider range of services and lifestyle information. Our Players range from funky ladies to City gents."
The site offers two levels of membership. Signing up as a 'Lite-Player' is free, but 'Pro-Players' – who get more inter-connectivity and exclusive access to leisure and entertainment deals and offers – pay around £3.30 per month compared to around £20 per month for a traditional online dating agency.
When Theo saw 'Love Actually' recently, he realised that there are lots of people keen to set up new friendships in time for Christmas. He was also struck by how difficult it can be to meet new friends in a big city.
"So, to chime in with the festive spirit, we're offering a free Pro-Player membership to anyone who signs up by New Year's Eve," he says.
As an Internet entrepreneur who got caught out when the dot.com bubble burst, Theo Koumis predicts that a new tranche of sites pitching themselves at virtual communities is on the way and he plans to open up a Players site for every major city in the UK within a year.
ENDS
For further information phone Theo Koumis on: 07005 980 303 or theo@netplayers.biz
Or visit the site at www.netplayers.biz