You're never too old to find love online

INTERNET DATING is not the exclusive preserve of the young. An 81-year-old retired Chinese art professor has proved that age is no impediment to finding an online sweetheart and has just married a 58-year-old woman he met on the net.

Wu Jieqin got down on one knee to propose to his fiancée Jiang Xiaohui, while relatives and friends looked on and applauded. The couple plan to spend their married lives in Chengdu in Sichuan province, Ms Jiang's hometown.

Online dating is one of the fastest growing areas of activity on the internet these days, with more than 6,000 dating websites and 130 million users. It is slowly taking the place of the matchmaker or hong niang, which translates as an "auspicious red mother", who still helps most people get hitched. Even in the bustling financial capital Shanghai, 7 per cent of couples say they met through the work of a matchmaker.

An internet user since 1998, Mr Wu had little time for tradition. He had more than 50 positive responses to his ad, including offers from the US, Australia and the Ukraine. After a few blind dates, he was smitten by Ms Jiang, a retired railway worker.

Mr Wu had to win over his wife's parents, aged 85 and 86, who feared he was too old for their daughter, but his charm convinced them.

"Two people living together is like two gears clicking into place. As long as the gears work, they can run forever. The age of the gears is irrelevant. And the internet does not only belong to young people," said Mr Wu.

Wu Jieqin used to teach at the prestigious Central Academy of Art. He divorced in 1998 and entered a retirement home, and used the internet to stay in touch with his daughter who lives in the US. He started to look around for a new wife on the web, placing an ad with the help of a student.

"He found that women his own age didn't suit him so he began looking for a woman in her 40s or 50s," the Beijing News reported.

Mr Wu married Ms Jiang in a ceremony with 10 other couples organised by the online dating company which introduced them.