Submitted by: kirkland on Wednesday December 10th, 2003 at 10:02 PM EST

America Online has launched a new online dating service, banking on making a match in financial heaven from the millions of singles flirting in its bustling chat service.

The new service, Love.com (www.love.com), is being built on the AOL Instant Messenger service, which already has 50 million users. It will compete with longstanding online dating services like Match.com, which lets users communicate by traditional e-mail.

Love.com is initially being offered at no cost, but AOL, the Internet unit of media conglomerate Time Warner, said it will begin charging by Valentine's Day.

Love.com is the second consumer business initiative from AOL, following the debut in September of an online games service feature, that is also played over the instant messaging service. AOL declined to disclose specifics about the service.

Love.com will require users to register and create a user profile on a separate Web site. The profiles will be linked to a user's instant message identity, allowing Love.com members to send and receive messages without revealing their real identity.

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