Virtual world, real emotions: Relationships in Second Life

There is a new trend in the Second Life virtual world, real relationships. Many new couples are forming and even getting married once meeting originally on Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world were people have their own property, gather at social functions, have relationships, get married - you name it, you can do it on Second Life. More recently, more and more couples are meeting on Second Life, getting into virtual relationships, and sometime after are actually meeting in real life. Nina Allam and Sean Barbary are perfect examples of a relationship sparked from Second Life. They first met on Second Life and got married in June in the virtual world. Just recently they met for the first time in person; they both hit it off in real life. There are many more couples named in this article and numerous more unmentioned, who have found "true" love in and outside of the virtual world.
This idea of meeting in a virtual world and then trying to develop a relationship is not all that new to our time. Think of a website such as e-harmony; people meet virtually with the intention to meet in real life if they think that they will be compatible with each other. The idea is not that bad. The only thing which I find odd is the idea of virtual world and how people can get in relationships or even get married. Are the feelings between two people actually real if they were created through a virtual world? There is a lot to consider before partaking in this Second Life movement. I know one thing, I will not partake in a Second Life relationship or marriage; most likely not in Second Life at all.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/12/second.life.relationship.irpt/index.html