You go to a bar. You meet someone. You like them. But then they turn out to be the devil in sheep's clothing, and you're back at square one. After decades of dating, is the internet the next step to finding your real soul mate-or are we all just doomed to settle?

Gone are the days of searching through the classifieds for a perfect mate. Even dating sites like Match.com and Yahoo Personals are geared toward a younger crowd looking for "casual" dating-the MTV generation that frequents Facebook and MySpace and prefers texting to actual phone contact. Then there are the sites that have science on their side... those that promise long-term relationships and not quick flings. Enter eHarmony.com and PerfectMatch.com, the "nice guys" of the bunch.

PerfectMatch's goal is similar to eHarmony's. The site pairs couples based on values and ideals, deal breakers, life and love style and essentials, using their Duet total compatibility system.

"Casual dating and social networking sites have historically battled the infiltration of pornographers and spammers," says Duane Dahl, CEO of PerfectMatch.com. "The opportunity for these hideous solicitors to sign up in three minutes and market to 15-20 million people instantly is an attractive proposition. Large scale niche sites, such as eHarmony.com, jdate.com and PerfectMatch-all communities of like-minded people-don't suffer through these issues. The process of joining is more substantive, and in the case of PerfectMatch, technology and a hands-on approach severely limits access to those not serious about finding a relationship."

Rather than having potential clients fill out quick profiles, these sites have an actual screening process to weed out those that aren't serious about getting serious. They feel that genuine compatibility is the key to long-term relationship success.

"Over the years, researchers have increasingly found that similarity between partners relates to better relationship functioning," Dr. Gian C. Gonzaga, senior research scientist at eHarmony Labs, confirms. "Our research adds to this by providing a reason why similarity promotes better relationships. Partners who are similar in broad dispositions, like personality, are more likely to feel the same way in their day-to-day lives. This may make it easier for partners to understand each other."

eHarmony claims high compatibility results, saying that over 90% of their couples have had marriage quality scores that were above average when compared to couples who began their relationships somewhere else.

"This news is another clear indication that the eHarmony matching algorithm works," says Dr. Neil Clark Warren, clinical psychologist and founder of eHarmony. "Not only are eHarmony couples 35% more likely than other married couples to report that they enjoy spending time together, but we found they are nearly twice as likely to report that their marriages are 'extremely happy' or better versus other recently married couples."

With all the statistics and science thrown into the love equation and mottos, like "Who knew love and science were so compatible," one can't help but wonder, what about the thrill of the hunt? Do these sites really build strong relationships, or are people merely treated like baseball cards with a picture and stats side by side? Is knowing that someone is your mental soul mate really more powerful than face-to-face attraction?