By ANGIE KAY and AAP

WHEN John Paul Young sang Love is in the Air he couldnt possibly have known how prophetic that would be with one in seven Australians now turning to the airwaves of cyberspace to find romance.

A new study by Swinburne University in Melbourne has found three quarters of the relationships formed over the internet remain platonic but 25% of them become real life romance.

And for Mooloolaba solicitor and migration agent Diane Brennan, it has changed the nature of her business as she works to unite Coast cyberspace lovers through the quagmire of immigration law.

Of the 1000 adults questioned for the study, 13% of them had formed social relationships on line.

Researcher Simone Buzwell said the internet was not just the domain of desperate, spotty teens with a range of people from pensioners to well-heeled professionals now finding friends in cyberspace.

"We found cyber-socialisers tended to be young, single women and men who were comfortable with new technology, more likely to vote Green than Liberal and who regularly use the internet to make friends," she said.

"Most met their online romantic partner face to face at least once, with 32% culminating in ongoing relationships."

The good news for these cyberlovers is that their relationships are not doomed to failure with the study saying 71% of relationships started online were still going two years later.

"Its no longer just an urban myth that people are searching for love and friendships online - it is an Australian reality, " Dr Buzwell said.

"The study confirms that internet relationships are no longer the province of the young, and it appears that adult men and women across Australia are enjoying the social possibilities that the internet can provide."

Diane Brennan said 100% of her cases this week, and an average of 75% of her weekly cases, were trying to unite couples who had met on the internet.

For people who want partners who are from overseas, the internet is an obvious way to meet them, she said. All they have to do is convince the Department of Immigration that its a genuine, loving relationship.

Mrs Brennan said the internet had replaced the old-fashioned ways of dating.

I think it saves you the trouble of having to leave your house and make yourself look beautiful. It is easy and it is safe because you are not exposed until you go to meet them.

And there are a lot of people who want a partner from overseas for a whole variety of reasons. For some older men they want younger women and for some its a cultural thing where they want a wife who wont be ambitious and will be happy to stay at home and look after their husband.

Its really a mutual need which satisfies everyone.