NEW YORK, NY-- The Internet is transforming dating, with a service as sly as it is shy.

Mixing digital-age efficiency with old-fashioned mystery, a free Web site called SecretAdmirer.com (http://www.SecretAdmirer.com) lets users anonymously find out if their romantic feelings are mutual. In doing so, says Miles Kronby, the site's creator, SecretAdmirer solves a key problem of modern dating.

"These days most people work and hang out in co-ed groups," says Kronby. "So it's more than just your ego at stake if you want to ask someone out. If the person's not interested, it can create a fair bit of awkwardness in your daily life. But after confirming your feelings with SecretAdmirer.com, the first move becomes a sure thing. It's practical and it's fun."

When you receive a SecretAdmirer email message, it gets both your head and your Rolodex spinning. The message is simple: "This message has been sent by a SecretAdmirer! Is the feeling mutual? Come to http://www.SecretAdmirer.com to find out."

The only way to find out who sent you the message is to go to the SecretAdmirer.com Web site and send an anonymous SecretAdmirer message of your own, to someone (or a few people) that you like. If you send one to the person who sent one to you, the SecretAdmirer database automatically recognizes a match.

When a match occurs, both you and your admirer are notified by email that your feelings are mutual. However, if you send one to someone who didn't send one to you, the process starts again, with a new opportunity to match.

"It makes romance a lot easier," says Kronby, "because your identity gets revealed only when you match with someone. It's really the opposite of a personals service. Personals are a way to meet strangers — strangers who aren't necessarily honest when they describe themselves in writing. But SecretAdmirer.com helps you start a relationship with someone you already know and like."

But would the winged cherub with the bow and arrow approve of this high-tech solution?

"I don't see why not," laughs Kronby, "we're just making his job easier."