As one of the oldest and most popular online dating services around, Friend Finder, www.friendfinder.com, is one of the most extensive social networking services available today. Its easy to use platform was designed to connect people of all walks of life, whether you're searching for a friendly pen pal or the love of your life. Featuring active chat channels, voice messaging, video and photo uploads, and instant messaging, Friend Finder offers three basic membership levels: Free, Silver, and Gold.

Operating much like other online matchmaking services, free members can create personal profiles. These profiles cover basic information, but are much less extensive than other sites might offer. The upside is the signup process is quick and easy, but listings can be a bit thin. Other members can see your listing, but only paying subscribers will be able to initiate contact. Free members are also a bit restricted with the communications. They cannot, for instance, view unlimited profiles and photos, and can only conduct very basic searches. Still, those who sign up will enjoy 3 months free, so everyone has an opportunity test subscriptions benefits.

Those who do decide to purchase a membership will be able to contact an unlimited number of members, enjoy advanced search capabilities, and have their profile and photo changes approved faster. Listings will also show up higher than standard listings. Silver members have access to many of the same benefits as gold members, but are still somewhat restricted. Their profile and photo reviews are fast, but not priority. A regular email displaying new potential members, called the 'Cupid' service, is restricted to 10 matches, rather than the unlimited contacts gold members receive. Silver members are limited to 500 'Hotlist' contacts, while gold members can have up to 1000. Gold members also have access to a priority search form, friends' messaging service screen names, and extra large photos.

FriendFinder.com maintains about 3.5 million active members. Silver memberships cost 22.95/month, while gold memberships cost 34.95/month. Visit FriendFinder.com to learn more!