Match.com looks to Facebook to enhance its dating services

InterActiveCorp-owned dating site, Match.com, is launching a Facebook application in a bid to attract new users amongst the social network's 58m user base. The subscription dating site, which was founded in 1995, is set to release its 'Little Black Book' application, which will allow Facebook users to find potential matches on a 'pay-per-contact' basis. The launch comes at the same time as Match.com unveils a 'Match My Friend' tool, to encourage friends to use the dating service to match-make each other. "Our experience tells us that social networkers have a high propensity to try online dating, which makes this a natural move for us," says Jason Stockwood, head of the UK version of Match, speaking to The Guardian. Under the move Match aim to use the popularity of social networking to expand its own dating template. " Match.com shares many of the same characteristics as a social network - both are about bringing people together," Stockwood adds. The Little Black Book Application will let friends share potential matches with friends to seek their opinions and offers a more social approach to online dating. In Oct research by comScore indicated that social networks are more popular in the UK than in any other European country, with 24.9m Britons, or 78% of the UK online population signed up.