COMPUTER web surfer Simon James got swept away on the wave of passion when he met his wife through the internet.

Mr James, from Farmers Court, Westlands, logged on to love when he began chatting to Parascovia Stratulat on Friend Finder, a website similar to a chat room, last April.

Now a year on, the happy couple are married and live in a flat in Woodmans Green, Westlands, after the 21-year-old from Moldova moved to England in February 2002 to be with her lover.

"I never thought in a million years this would ever happen, especially when I first starting e-mailing people," said 31-year-old Mr James.

Over time, the couple became very close and they used to email each other every day. Eventually the university law student began phoning his wife-to-be at her home in Moldova's capital, Chisinau.

"My phone bill was enormous as it costs about £1 per minute to ring Moldova," Mr james said.

Romanian visit

The couple met for the first time in July 2001 when Mr James flew out to Romania.

"I was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing, you hear so many horror stories about internet relationships," he said.

"After spending a couple of days with her, I knew that it was going to be different, there was something really special about her. I proposed to her in an Irish bar in Chisinau while Lady In Red was playing in the background last year."

The couple married at Droitwich Register Office at the end of last month after being engaged for just six months.

"At the time, our families and friends were very wary about the whole thing, but they seemed to have warmed to the idea now," he added.

"We plan to have another wedding in Chisinau around August because Parascovia's parents were unable to come over to England for our ceremony here.

"I've spent the majority of my savings on going over to see Parascovia and paying for her to come to England, but every single penny has been worth it.

"I guess you just don't know which stone you're going to uncover next and where you're going to find true love."