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As the upcoming Facebook IPO begins to dominate the headlines, investors might want to take a step back and take a closer look at online dating stocks like Cupid PLC (LON: CUP), Meetic SA (EPA: MEET) and Jiayuan.com International (NASDAQ: DATE). After all, online dating websites were probably the first true social networking sites and have existed long before Facebook was created. However, Most American investors (even those who are single) are probably not familiar with these stocks because Cupid PLC (CUP) is based in the UK (but operates dating websites globally), Meetic SA (MEET) is based in France (but also operates in multiple countries or languages) and Jiayuan.com International (DATE) is based in China. So which of these online dating stocks might investors want to go courting with? Here is a closer look at all three to help you decide:

Cupid PLC (LON: CUP)

Cupid PLC is a provider of online dating services covering four geographical segments: United Kingdom, North America, Australia/New Zealand/Asia/Africa, and Europe (except United Kingdom). At the start 2011, Cupid PLC had an international base of over 18 million members in 39 countries. On Thursday, Cupid PLC fell 0.82% to 211p (CUP has a 52 week trading range…………… continues on SmallCap Network

You can do everything to prepare for an upcoming date with the click of a mouse — from finding a reverse happy hour on Yelp to shopping for a perfectly nonchalant first-date outfit without a trip to the mall — so why not find the person you want to date online, too?

According to Internet tracking firm Experian Hitwise, in November 2011 the major dating sites, including eHarmony and Match.com, collectively had more than 593 million visits in just one month in the United States. Though we must keep in mind that just because someone visited a dating site doesn’t necessarily mean they used it, it does present a larger truth: more people are considering online dating. Clearly, we’re using the Internet for more than Facebook stalking and ‘Funny Or Die’ videos.

Finding a date online 10 years ago might have implied that you were a desperate social outcast who couldn’t hack trying to find real love in the real world, and thus had to resort to the digital one. However, as our digital lives and real lives overlap, especially with the powerful surge of social media, the separation between those two lives is diminishing. The general thought on dating online today appears to be, “Well, we do everything else online, don’t we?”

UT professor of marketing Raj Raghunathan, who studies theories in psychology and behavioral sciences, recently spoke at the annua…………… continues on UT The Daily Texan