While most industries are feeling the pinch from the global credit crunch, the online dating sector appears to be benefiting.

PlentyMoreFish.com said that it has seen an unprecedented fourfold increase in new members joining in the past month.

Steve Moylan, co-owner and manager of the site, believes that a reaction to the credit crunch is the only explanation for the increased interest.

"We have not undertaken any unusual marketing activity during the period, nothing that we were not doing in the months before this sudden increase in interest in our site," he said.

"We have come to the conclusion that people are looking for other ways of meeting people that do not involve going out on the town every night."

Moylan suggested that the credit crunch will have the greatest effect on single people who live alone or with children, making them think harder about how they socialise and spend their limited "fun money".

"Online they can search for and chat with other people in their area and make a date for the weekend, reducing the amount of money they have to spend going out to find a date in the first place," he said.