Sitting in front of the computer, Yao, a female sophomore, got linked to the main page of "iPartment" and entered her virtual apartment after typing in the keywords. In this summer vacation, Yao "cohabits" with a boyfriend that she met on the Internet. They chat online at a fixed time every day. Last week Yao and her boyfriend obtained a "marriage certificate" online and began to decorate their "home". "We're planning to adopt a child since we have a love nest," said Yao.

Young people who "cohabit" on the Internet like Yao are not rare. According to a survey conducted by relevant authorities, the number of netizens cohabiting in virtual apartments reaches 100,000, most of which are university students. "Online cohabitation" originated from the game "Cohabiting Utopia" launched by a women's website in Taiwan. Many online game operators, one after another, have copied the successful mode after the game was introduced to the mainland.

According to incomplete statistics, tens of websites provide "online cohabitation" platforms at present, with the number of registered users ranging from several thousands to tens of thousands in each website. "Online Family" (gzhdclc.2000y.net/) and "The 9th City" (www.the9.com/) have the largest number of netizens cohabiting in their online communities.

(Chinanews.cn July 21, 2005)