At International Love Scout we periodically update our dating agency reviews based on visitor feedback, our interaction with the agency, and other information that comes to light.  This month we have updated our review of Anastasia International. 

Anastasia is one of the biggest, if not the biggest international dating site.  They have tons of beautiful women, probably more than any other agency, and lots of extra services that could really be useful.

OK, so by now nearly everyone knows that Bing is the latest challenger to go after the internet's heavyweight champion of search Google.  Bing is a Microsoft product and for the most part it has gotten fairly good reviews.  The interface is slick and the daily photos are usually stunning and it returns good search results.  However, there is nothing that is likely to make too many people switch from Google to Bing - until NOW!

Bing crushes Google for looking at hot girls!  I believe this is a fair review. In fact, I believe that Bing should be you default image search. But don't trust me.  Check it out for yourself:

One of the biggest questions that guys are concerned about is their privacy.  We cover this in our reviews, but essentially the safest agencies use reputable third party payment processors, so they never see your credit card information, and are based in the US, the EU, Australia, or another country with a strong criminal justice system.  Generally, those two things vastly reduce your worries about privacy.

However, if you are really obsessive we suggest that you create a free Yahoo or Hotmail account that you devote solely to your mail order bride adventure.  That way you don't even have to worry about spam.

Honestly, most of the staff here are signed up with numerous sites, far more than just the ones we review, and frankly the emails are manageable.  There are several sites that I know we will never review on ILS, but I still like seeing their new profiles and who they have matched me too.

The free sign-ups, which nearly every site offers, really are a great way to decide if you really want to go with a particular site and I highly recommend it because there is no downside. Also, some of the sites run specials particularly for the people that are already signed up as free members, so that can be helpful too.

Good Luck!

Clearly one of the big challenges of international dating is understanding the various dating rituals around the world.  Well, according to the New York Times Iraq is really developing a bizarre dating ritual: The  "Love IED". 

  The article is funny, but a little sad:

"BAGHDAD — It goes like this: Boy meets girl. They exchange glances and text messages, the limit of respectable courting here. Then boy asks girl’s father for her hand. Dad turns him down. Boy goes to girl’s house and plants a bomb out front."

Here's the link to the rest of the article: Lovelorn Iraqi Men Call on a Wartime Skill

Maybe, they should send roses or candy instead.

We get a lot of searches for karate girls and karate girl and dating a karate girl.   This is a bit of a surprise for us here at ILS, but we want to help.

You can look for women interested in karate or ballet or skydiving by trying that term into the search box in the Gallery.  

Right now, I believe we only have one woman who lists karate as an interest, but we are certainly will keep an eye out for more.  

 Alyona is our only karate girl right now, but she's really something.

Well, whether you are looking for a girl with a great high kick or one that just wants to kick back I hope you find what you are looking for.

Good Luck!

Why do women do so many women from Eastern Europe want to marry foreign men?

This is one of the most common questions that men ask about the international dating industry, but the answer is simple.  The women signing up for international dating agencies know that they will almost certainly have a better quality of life in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or any other highly developed country than they would if they remained in the old Soviet Bloc.

Some of it is strictly economics.  According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2008 after nearly a decade of robust economic growth the estimated average GDP of Russia was $15,800, in the Ukraine in it was $6,900, and in Moldova, for those of you who know where Moldova is, it was a measly $2,500.