Japan?s Internet dating services: The weird and the dangerousTokyo Weekender / feb 20
....Men can pay a fee to have access to the mobile phone numbers of schoolgirls. Often, the male callers arrange to meet the girls, who sign up voluntarily and register their phone numbers. The Japan Internet Association (JIA), a non-governmental organization, reports that one in three high school girls own a mobile phone that has Internet functions. ...more than 30,000 Japanese men pay \500 per month for the privilege of sending romantic e-mails to a computer that responds with pre-programmed scripts. It?s called ?Love by Mail.?
The male subscribers get to choose a virtual girlfriend from a diverse lineup of women including bartenders, flight attendants, office workers and teachers. After making their selection, they begin to date these cyber gals via e-mail. When asked to explain his attraction to his virtual girlfriend.....
Another unnamed subscriber proclaims, ?I dated Hiroko (virtual name) for a while, and I have to confess I became very attached to her. It was hard sometimes to remember Hiroko wasn't real. She would argue with me and ignore me the same way as all my other girlfriends.?
See also the BBC Click Online story.