May 1, 2007, 8:32 AM

TORONTO, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Remember a world before online dating? Lavalife does. This year, Lavalife, a leading provider of products and services designed for singles, celebrates its 20th anniversary. For two decades, Lavalife has paved the way for singles, along the way introducing new technologies and services that bring people together in a changing world and have ultimately changed the landscape of the dating industry.

Lavalife, originally called Teleclassifieds, was founded in 1987 by five young Toronto-based entrepreneurs who had been experimenting with then-breakthrough IVR technology (Interactive Voice Response). Since 1987, the company has grown to become one of the largest providers of phone-based personals services, the #1 online dating site in Canada, a leader in mobile-based personals services, and an industry leader throughout the globe.

Lavalife has set a precedent of adapting quickly to new technologies, a tradition that continues today as Lavalife offers new ways for singles to connect.

    A brief timeline outlining 20 years of Lavalife:
    1987  Teleclassifieds began with phone-based classified services that
          included personals, pets, furniture and apartments
    1988  Teleclassifieds becomes Telepersonals, with only a phone-based
          personals service that allows singles to meet and talk via phone
    1994  Traditional dial-up systems (CompuServe, AOL, Prodigy) begin to
          provide Internet access.  The World Wide Web begins to enter private
          homes.
    1997  Webpersonals launches, allowing singles to come together online in
          new ways.
    1999  Telepersonals expands during the 1990s from its home in Toronto to
          over 40 cities in North America and Australia.
    2001  The Lavalife brand launches across Canada, the United States and
          Australia.
    2004  Lavalife Mobile debuts, allowing singles to expand their interaction
          to mobile devices.
    2006  Lavalife Magazine launches, offering a new style of magazine on the
          internet with special content just for singles.
  
      

Lavalife is one of the most recognizable brands in Canada and is also well-established throughout the United States and Australia. "We have invested heavily in the development of the Lavalife brand over the past few years and we have developed a powerful lifestyle brand that resonates with cosmopolitan, open-minded, youthful singles." stated Marina Glogovac, Lavalife's Chief Executive Officer.

"It is incredible to see how the personals industry has changed and evolved over the past 20 years," added Glogovac. "When we launched Teleclassifieds in 1987, we were the first to launch telephone-based personals. Voice continues to be the largest part of our business, and we recently transitioned it onto a VoIP-based platform, enabling us to acquire additional voice customers via the web. Today we are also the North American mobile dating leader with half a dozen mobile-based chat and entertainment products, and this will continue to be a high-growth zone for us. With our historic experience in voice, web and mobile, we are well prepared for the multi-channel consumer universe and converging communication platforms."

About Lavalife

Lavalife is ranked the #1 website for online dating in Canada* and is ranked among the top 10 worldwide dating sites.** A leading provider of products and services designed for singles, Lavalife connects, engages and entertains through a variety of web, voice and mobile offerings. Founded in 1987, Lavalife Corp. markets its products and services across the United States, Canada and Australia. Lavalife's open-minded approach to online dating allows singles to choose how they want to "click" by offering three unique and distinctive services in personals: dating, relationships and intimate encounters. Lavalife has attracted millions of unique members who exchange 1.3 million messages every day. For more information, visit http://www.lavalife.com.

* Source: Combination of comScore Media Metrix and Lavalife. Lavalife estimates that it ranks #1 in Canada when publicly quoted statistics are adjusted to reflect traffic assigned to other web sites.

** Source: Combination of comScore Media Metrix and Lavalife. Lavalife estimates that it ranks in the top 10 worldwide when publicly quoted statistics are adjusted to reflect traffic assigned to other web sites.

Source: http://www.betanews.com/newswire/pr/Lavalife_Celebrates_20th_Anniversary/59574