A LOCAL website has given a twist to online dating.
Instead of finding Mr Right at a click of the mouse, Hitchoo.com allows you to find your matches in person before getting to know them online - all with the help of a name card.
With the Hitchoo card, singles looking to make new friends can be assured that what they see is what they get - its main advantage over traditional online dating websites where photographs on the site can be digitally enhanced or faked.
This is how it works: Members receive eight Hitchoo cards free upon registration and hand them out to anyone they see and are interested in.
Using the unique user name and password printed on the card, the person who receives the card can check out the online profile of the card-giver on Hitchoo.com.
If those who check out the profile like what they see, they can then contact the person who approached them.
After the initial eight free cards have been given out, additional cards can be bought at $18 for a dozen.
The founder of the website, Mr Hu Yinghan, was inspired by the movie Hitch, which stars Will Smith as a dating consultant who earns a living by bringing people together.
Mr Hu, an Oxford law graduate, left his high-paying job as an investment associate at the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) to set up the website.
He feels that making others happy by matching them up is probably 'the best job in the world'.
The 25-year-old says: 'I feel a sense of accomplishment after setting up this website. I hope to change Singaporeans and make them more carefree and fun-loving.'
The eldest of three children, Mr Hu comes from a humble family. His father works as a newspaper deliveryman and his stepmother is a housewife. They live in a four-room flat in Ang Mo Kio.
For Mr Hu, being able to get financial support from his extended family and friends to set up the website is like a dream come true. His sister has signed up as a member on the website to show her support.
Setting up Hitchoo.com has landed Mr Hu a girlfriend, although not in the way his website prescribes.
He met his girlfriend through a charity project that they were planning for Hitchoo.com.
Mr Hu says the Hitchoo card 'saves people from the embarrassment of rejection'.
'Card receivers will feel happy that someone finds him or her particularly attractive that day.'
Launched about three weeks ago, Hitchoo.com, which cost Mr Hu about $50,000 to set up, has already drawn more than 200 members.
Undergraduate Jeff Chua found it 'flattering' when a wo-
man handed him a Hitchoo card on a train.
'It is a new way of knowing someone else and it is not intrusive at all,' the 23-year-old says.
He has since signed up as a Hitchoo member and has already sent the woman a message on the website. He is now awaiting her reply.
Currently, male members outnumber female ones by 6:4. However, Mr Hu is not at all worried about the disproportionate ratio.
