Meetic, Europe's biggest dating service, also boasts millions of users.Blowing cyberkisses has become a popular pastime in emerging markets too.

Once seen as the last resort for a bunch of lonely geeks, online-dating services have gradually shed much of the stigma formerly associated with them.

Online dating sites advertise groundbreaking technology and sophisticated formulas and state-of-the-art programming to help you find your true soul mate. Though the technology found its own match with the rise of the Internet, the idea has been around for half a century.

In 1965, a pair of University of Michigan undergrads found each other with the help of a primitive computer dating program.

With both sites claiming a high success rate, CNBC speaks with experts who examine those claims and question whether the algorithms actually capture a client’s personality and preferences.

CNBC also profiles a number of online daters who have used these sites—both successfully and unsuccessfully—in hopes of finding the perfect mate.