Still on the subject of surveys about Aussies' dating and relationship behaviour: Another online study has confirmed that there is great variation between the states. For example, West Australian women are the most marriage-minded; blokes in Tasmania seem to be the most romantic; and women in Canberra have a pretty low opinion of the men there.

The survey was conducted by online dating site Red Hot Pie, which is certainly not the only large Australian dating site to have conducted such a survey lately. Not only is this an innovative use of the vast membership such sites enjoy; it's also a very clever promotion method, since mainstream media outlets eagerly lap up the data they collect.

Aussie blokes have been stereotyped as sexist, beer-swilling yobs for ages. I think that while it was never quite as pervasive as it was made out to be, this image was much more valid decades ago. Of course, if you go looking, you can still see lots of Aussie men like this. However, the stereotype does seem to be getting less and less relevant as the years go on.

A recent survey, conducted by the popular website Ask Men, confirms this. It found that Australian men are actually quite romantic.

One of the main ways that cultures differ is in their attitudes to sexual behaviour. Here's a perfect illustration of that:

A Saudi man bragged about his active sex life in an interview for a Lebanese chat show. It was pretty mild stuff compared to what we see in the west on a daily basis. If he had done the same thing in America, for instance, no one would have thought anything of it! However, Saudi authorities were alarmed by what he'd described and he was subsequently arrested.

Recent research has shown that the more profiles online daters consider the less likely they are to find suitable partners. It's as if they're bamboozled by the sheer variety on offer.

Many people envy movie stars and celebrities because of their attractiveness to the opposite sex. However, being famous can be very problematic relationship wise. Not only do all the details of a break-up become public soon after it occurs, but single stars are often falsely reported to be hitched!

Take the rumor that Gerard Butler is dating Jennifer Aniston. Not surprisingly, these have turned out to be completely unfounded.

No wonder he is so keen to deny them. It might be very difficult for him to find a new girlfriend when everyone thinks he's taken - and by someone so desirable!

Beautiful young Swedish socialite Charlotte Lindstrom has been languishing in an Australian jail after having pleaded guilty to soliciting an alleged hitman to kill two witnesses about to give evidence against her boyfriend Steven Spaliviero in a drug trial. She claimed that the solicitation was not her decision; she was following her boyfriend's instructions.

But in a surprising development, Spaliviero has been cleared of all charges realting to the incident. In the trial, he argued that he never asked Lindstrom to pass on instructions to kill the witnesses; that she wanted them dead because she was besotted with him.

Well, it seems that one of them is lying. And either way it reveals the crazy, scary extremes some people will go to when they are in love.

At any given time there always seems to be at least one high profile politician embroiled in a sex scandal. The latest is Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. He doesn't seem to be too worried, though.

One criticism of marriage that you've probably heard many times is that when you get married you tend to "let yourself go". That cliche actually seems to have some truth to it, because a recent study shows that married people have a higher incidence of obesity than those who are dating but not cohabiting.

Another niche dating site has been created. This one caters primarily to book lovers, and is an adjunct to the Borders UK website. I suspect more and more of these big retailers will do the same. It's yet another sign of how pervasive and accepted (not to mention targeted!) online dating has become.