In the progressive world of online dating, it may come to no surprise that people are finding matches at the click of their fingertips.

Even at a campus as large as University Park, the case of the phenomena of someone knowing someone has multiplied. With a little help from friends, a few mouse clicks -- and now "gifts" on Facebook, you might just find a match.

"She actually messaged me on Facebook," Rob Smith (sophomore-business) said about how he met his girlfriend, who attends Temple University.

The couple, who has been dating for nine months, has a mutual friend on the Web site.

With the evolution of Facebook.com, Match.com -- even AIM instant messenger -- it might become just a little easier to strike up that first conversation.

Like Smith and his girlfriend, other couples have relied on the Internet to ultimately find the perfect match.

This is the story of three couples -- and though the way they met is similar, their situations aren't.

Justin Fyala (senior-music education) and Cody Bair (senior-human development and family studies)

Two Halloweens ago, Cody decided to dress in an old costume from one of his high school productions of Bye, Bye Birdie to go to a party. The costume was gold, and to this day the couple still laughs about the outlandish fabric.

"You were dressed up as a gold member," Justin joked.

While Cody wore old threads from high school, Justin dressed in all black and wore a Chex cereal box with a knife through it to be a "cereal" killer.

After the party, where a mutual friend had introduced the two, they started to talk online by sending messages over Facebook.

"I was supposed to contact him," Cody said. "Because he wasn't going to make the first move."

Finally, Justin threw in the towel.

"I asked him, 'When are you going to take me out?' " he said. "It took forever."

At the end of November, they had their first date at the Tavern Restaurant, 220 E. College Ave.

On their third date, after meeting Justin's friends at Champs, Cody went back to Justin's apartment, so Cody could interview Justin for a class assignment about sexuality.

The questions included such things as name, relationship to the person asking the questions, as well as the relationship status.

"So, he totally tricked me into dating him," Justin joked.

But the couple, who eventually plan to get married, don't deny their differences.

"It should be our theme song," Justin said about the Paula Abdul's song, "Opposites Attract." "We have nothing in common -- except cars [and cooking]."

But underneath all the smiles, comes some pain.

"Sometimes I feel uncomfortable holding hands in State College," Cody said, adding that he feels more relaxed in Pittsburgh where Justin is from. "The open-mindedness is a lot more narrow around here."

Cody waited until sophomore year of college to come out about his sexuality to his family and friends. Cody, who grew up 30 minutes from University Park, said he was raised in a conservative household. The timing felt more right when he was finally in college.

"They still don't want anything to do with Justin," he said about his family. But, Justin's family "welcomes me with open arms," Cody added.

For Justin, things were a little easier. He came out when he was 13 and to his surprise, his parents told him that "they kind of figured" he was gay.

The couple reserves Tuesday nights as date nights, where they absolutely must plan their schedules around the date.

Justin, who is graduating this May, hopes to become a voice lessons instructor and a musical opera house director.

Cody, who wants to become a marriage therapist, is a senior but will be graduating May 2008.

"We'll be 35 before we start living together," Justin joked about the couple's busy schedules.

Stephanie Leader (senior-economics) and Carl Anderson (senior-finance and economics)

When Carl first met Stephanie, no sparks flared.

It was last year at a Halloween party where a mutual friend had introduced the two -- Stephanie as a party animal and Carl as a John Lennon.

It wasn't until she was browsing through Facebook that she recognized a guy who looked familiar. She decided to write a message on his "wall," asking him if he was John Lennon at the Halloween party.

The guy happened to be Carl, who she had met a month ago.

Despite being Facebook friends, the two didn't really hang out until a racquetball game with friends before finals week of Fall 2005.

During winter break, the two talked a lot on the phone and ran into each other at the Orange Bowl.

In January -- on Friday the 13 -- they started dating.

Although they are from different states -- Stephanie from Ohio and Carl from a town near Centre Hall -- there's not much that sets them apart.

"We don't have a big rival," Stephanie said. "We only argue about pop and soda."

Their similar interests bring them together, such as studying economics, playing sports and tailgating at football games together. But sometimes they don't always get along.

"We kind of get into fights when we play volleyball," Stephanie said with a smile. "He's very competitive when it comes to sports."

Now a year into the relationship, both confidently say they plan to live in the same area after graduation. But both admit that the process of looking at different jobs is "getting kind of stressful."

Although she's graduating with a degree in economics, Stephanie said she's thinking about pursuing a career in academic advising, so she's looking at graduate schools.

Meanwhile, Carl is planning to become a financial analyst at a big firm, but he said he's trying not to be too selective.

Stephanie said the couple has had their ups and downs, but for most part it's been a good ride.

"I wasn't really looking for anything," Stephanie said remembering the first time she came across Carl on Facebook. "[But] then something developed."

Robert Smith (sophomore-business) and Christina Bussie, Temple senior majoring in psychology

Late one night when she was bored, Christina was looking at profiles on Facebook, and came across Rob's profile. Christina and Rob both had a friend in common.

Christina went to high school in Washington, D.C., with a friend who ended up going to Penn State. At Penn State, Christina's high school friend met Rob, who is from Philadelphia.

"I just saw his picture and he was really cute," Christina said. "If I saw him on the street I don't think I would have been able to approach him. [Facebook] broke the ice."

She added that they started to talk on the phone, and even though they had yet to meet face to face, she had butterflies.

Finally, they had their first date in April, when Rob came home. One month later, he asked Christina to be his girlfriend.

While Rob said he has never received reaction from other people about their interracial relationship, Christina said she gets reactions all the time -- and sometimes they are not so positive.

Christina's friends mostly make negative comments about their relationship and wonder why she doesn't date black guys, she said.

"Since most of my friends are black, they think it's kind of weird," she said. "Color shouldn't really matter."

The couple plan on moving in together after Rob graduates.

"There's a lot of things I like about her," Rob said. "She understands me."

Because of their busy schedules, the two try to see each other at least once a month. For example, they decided to celebrate Valentine's Day two weekends ago.

That weekend they went to dinner, the movies and ice-skating in Happy Valley.

"I sprained my ankle," Rob said.

But that wasn't the only pain he experienced over the weekend -- the couple also got tattoos together.

"I wanted to get a tattoo since last year," Rob said, adding that Christina wanted to get another tattoo. "I was like, 'why don't we go together.' "

Since they both go to school and work, Rob said it's not as difficult to be in a long-distance relationship as some people may think.

"It is and it ain't," he said. "We both know we can't see each other all the time, but we both do what we can. The fact that we trust each other. There is nothing to worry about."