Net blamed for marital breakups

LONDON, England -- The Internet is becoming a frequent cause of the collapse of relationships, a leading marriage guidance organisation has warned.

One in 10 of the 90,000 couples who seek the help of UK-based Relate now cite the Internet as a problem, with obsessive use of the medium blamed as well as its ability as a communication tool.

Both men and women complain of becoming Internet "widows" as their partners spend hours at the computer downloading software or looking at pornography.

Sex chatlines and sites such as friendsreunited.co.uk, which can rekindle old school passions, pose further threats to relationships.

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Relate's chief executive Angela Sibson told The Times newspaper on Monday: "Our counsellors report that, more and more, the Internet is a relationship breaker."

People aged between 25 and 35 were most vulnerable because they were the most frequent users of the Internet, Sibson's deputy Stephen Bagnall added.

"This is a peak time for people's first serious relationship to break up and it is also the age when many people get married for the first time," he told the paper.