A new study claims there is no science behind the matching algorithms used by online dating services.

Dating sites like eHarmony do a good job at depicting the perfect relationship; "real" people smiling at the cameras as Dr. Neil Clark Warren swears they found love through online dating. However, a new study says the methods used by these virtual Yentas are faulty, as their purported algorithms ignore scientific data.

"Online dating is a marvelous addition to the ways in which singles can meet potential romantic partners," Eli Finkel, the lead author of the study and a Northwestern University social psychology professor, said in a statement. "To date, there is no compelling evidence that any online dating matching algorithm actually works."

In this hyper-connected world, you likely know perfectly happy couples who met online or even met your significant other on the Web. However, Finkel says the methods employed by these sites are bunk, lacking concrete data to back them up.

"If dating sites want to claim that their matching algorithm is scientifically valid, they need to adhere to the standards of science, which is something they have uniformly failed to do," he said. "In fact, our report concludes that it is unlikely that their algorithms can work, even in principle, given the limitations of the sorts of matching procedures that these sites use."

The study suggests that dating sites begin to incorporate information from relationship science into their algorithms. It also points out that no matter how deeply two people seem to connect virtually, online interaction is no replacement for human contact. And prior to a face-to-face meeting, it's difficult to predict long-term compatibility, the study says.

"Developers of matching algorithms have tended to focus on the information that is easy for them to assess, like similarity in personality and attitudes, rather than the information that relationship science has found to be crucial for predicting long-term relationship well-being," the study found. "As a result, these algorithms are unlikely to be effective."

The study will be published in the next issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal from the Association for Psychological Science.

In other online dating news, a recent Match.com survey that explored the correlation between smartphone ownership and dating habits found that than iPhone or BlackBerry owners.