Ok here is the situation, online relationships are a new way of the older penpal relationships which brought together many couples in our pasts. I myself do not condone online dating sites or smut sites where you can end up totally deceived by nut cases and sickos, but sites where you have something in common like say an online game room or a fansite of a pc game or even sites such as this and many more, are a great way of meeting new and safer friends. I myself met my husband over 2 1/2 years ago in a fan site community of the sims 2 pc game and we became really great friends rather instantly along with a few others. We continued our friendship for the next 8 months during which time we grew rather close and decided we possibly had much more than just friendship going. So we decided to plan to meet and see if what we had was in fact "real" and planned a trip across the eastern seaboard of the states together (he is from Norway). We traveled for 2 weeks the first trip and found we were definitely made for each other while returning back to my home for 2 weeks of leisure. Then we went back out for another 2 weeks in the other direction (a bit west) including a trip to Vegas where our fansite community had a convention for 4 days and met 6 more of our friends. He spent a total of 2 month here with me and decided to take me home with him for 3 months so I could meet his family and friends and see his homeland. Well I of course fell in love with Norway and didn't want to return home when the time came, but unfortunately there are rules. So home I came alone and that's when it hit us harder than we both have ever been hit before, we were totally 100% in love with each other and had to do everything we could to make this happen. Well the next 9 months we were back on the messenger and fansite along with a few expensive phonecalls and grew even closer (you tend to really get to know someone from the inside out, rather than a physical attraction this way). So we searched the net for immigration laws in both directions and made plans during this time, and decided he was to come here for a few years to see if we wished to live here or there. He came back that next summer and we were married by september, the beginning of a long immigration process, but well worth it in the end. So be sure of yourself and each other and if it's meant to be, than you will pull each other through the hard times during this process. Friendship is by far the most important part of any relationship, so build on that and good luck.
