Website draws heavy local traffic

Red Deer is Alberta's capital for cheating spouses, claims a website for extramarital affairs.
The Ashley Madison Agency - which offers to link up philanderers "when monogamy becomes monotony" - said more people have signed up in Red Deer, per capita, than elsewhere in Alberta.
"Red Deer has somewhat of a dubious distinction of being the affair capital," Darren Morgenstern, operations manager for the agency, said on Tuesday.
Morgenstern said 860 people identifying themselves as Red Deer residents have signed up for the online dating service for married people.
That's about 12 people per 1,000 compared with 2.5 people per 1,000 in the province as a whole, said Morgenstern from Toronto.
The per capita rate is higher than the 7.5 per 1,000 in Ontario where Ashley Madison Agency is based and advertises extensively.
Morgenstern believes areas where husbands work out of town for long periods tend to have higher affair rates.
Fewer activities in smaller cities and towns could lead to boredom and contribute to higher rates.
In Red Deer, many men work in the oilpatch and are gone for weeks.
Peterborough, Ont., which surpasses Red Deer by having 14 clients per 1,000 population, has a high number of men who work on the road as truckers, said Morgenstern.
He noted that the statistics, generated through company records, have not been scientifically validated.
Morgenstern said Ashley Madison Agency has signed up 7,500 Albertans, many looking for something outside their marriages.
The website claims to have more than 140,000 members. Their average age is 36.
The website's slogan states it's for "attached women seeking romantic affairs and the men who want to fulfill them."
Morgenstern said the website has received complaints from people who don't know all the facts.
It's simply not true to suggest that the website encourages extramarital affairs, he said.
"Anyone who will have an affair will have one, no matter what. No one can convince them," said Morgenstern.
He said the website makes it safe for people to explore their feelings without disclosing their identities.
"We know humans are sexual creatures. We know adults are going to stray. Let's make it safer."
Three months after the website was launched in January 2002, it began making profits, said Morgenstern.
"Sign-ups have been brisk," he said, adding the company is looking at entering the United States market.

©  Copyright 2003 Red Deer Advocate