A settlement Wednesday between eHarmony Inc. and the New Jersey attorney general requires the online heterosexual dating service to also cater to homosexuals, raising questions about whether other services that target a niche clientele could be forced to expand their business models.

The settlement stemmed from a complaint, filed with the New Jersey attorney general’s office by a gay match seeker in 2005, that eHarmony had violated his rights under the state’s discrimination law by not offering a same-sex dating service. In 2007, the attorney general found probable cause that eHarmony had violated the state’s Law Against Discrimination.

As part of the agreement, the Pasadena, Calif.-based company will develop and market Compatible Partners, a Web dating service for same-sex couples, and will allow the site’s first 10,000 users to register free. EHarmony will also pay $50,000 to the attorney general’s office and $5,000 to the man who first brought the case.

In a statement Wednesday, eHarmony denied violating discrimination law and said its business had been based on years of researching opposite-sex marriages to understand what makes such couples compatible.

EHarmony was launched in 2000 by Neil Clark Warren, an evangelical Christian who practiced for years as a clinical psychologist. Dr. Warren is no longer involved in day-to-day management but is the company’s chairman. A spokesman said Dr. Warren had no comment on the settlement beyond the company’s statement.

A fringe activity a decade ago, online dating has soared in popularity, and many of eHarmony’s competitors allow same-sex matches. Consumers are expected to dole out nearly $1 billion in fees for online dating sites this year, according to Forrester Research, and the market is expected to expand by 10% in each of the next five years.

EHarmony is among the most popular dating Web sites, along with such sites as Yahoo Personals and IAC/InterActiveCorp’s Match.com. EHarmony attracted nearly 2.6 million unique visitors in October, a 28% jump from a year earlier, according to comScore Inc.

Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the claim against eHarmony was valid but not an issue his group would pursue. “We are focused on discrimination against parents, discrimination in employment, the real core issues that have a severely negative impact on our community.”

David Bernstein, who teaches constitutional law at George Mason University School of Law, said the discrimination claim “seems like quite a stretch,” but he worried it could encourage similar claims. “If you start a dating service for African Americans, do you need one for whites and Latinos? If you have one for Jews, do you need one for Christians and Muslims?”

EHarmony faces a similar discrimination claim in a California court. It’s unclear if this settlement will affect that case.

The attorney general’s office didn’t return a call seeking comment. “I applaud the decision of eHarmony to settle this case and extend its matching services to those seeking same-sex relationships,” said J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, director of the office’s civil rights division, in a statement.

EHarmony says it will launch its new site by March 31.

After watching this video you can’t deny the Britney is HUGE! Look at what all she has acomplished. I think after her big Meltdown she is like a young in-experienced singer trying to make it big again. Her new album reminds me of her “In The Zone” days mixed with a little “Blackout” wrapped up in her “Britney” days…. It’s not as heavy as Blackout and features more than just dance-tastic hits. It brings back a softer side too. I can’t wait for more videos and to see what Britney has in store for her Tour in 2009!!!

DEC 2nd!!!! oh wait… hmmmm. Loves it!!!!

Apparently after you beat Call of Duty: World at War you unlock a special Zombie Mode. It’s getting good reviews too. Check out the video.

The California Supreme Court moved swiftly Wednesday to tackle the latest legal showdown over gay marriage, agreeing to consider three lawsuits that challenge the legality of Proposition 8’s abolition of same-sex weddings.

At the same time, the state’s high court rejected a bid to put Proposition 8 on hold while the legal struggle unfolds, postponing indefinitely any new wedding vows for gay and lesbian couples. The Supreme Court indicated it is likely to rule by June.

Let’s hope they make the right decision and do the same thing they did before and rule that Gays have the right to marry!

The NFL is giving Adam "Pacman" Jones another chance.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday the suspended cornerback has been reinstated by Commissioner Roger Goodell, but he must miss two more games — this Sunday and the following game on Thanksgiving. He’ll be back Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh.

Oh Yeah! The Cowboys are coming back little by little….

After a wife discovered emails on her husband’s iPhone addressed to another woman and containing naked pictures of him, he apparently claimed the incriminating was due to a technical fault with the Apple phone rather than rampant adultery.

A post on Apple’s support forum from a woman named only as Susan exposed the tawdry tale.

"I took my husband’s i-phone and found a raunchy picture of him attached to an e-mail to a woman in his sent e-mail file (a Yahoo account). When I approached him about this (I think that he is cheating on me) he admitted that he took the picture but says that he never sent it to anyone.

He claims that he went to the Genius Bar at the local Apple store and they told him that it is an i-Phone glitch: that photos sometimes automatically attach themselves to an e-mail address and appear in the sent folder, even though no e-mail was ever sent. Has anyone ever heard of this happening? The future of my marriage depends on this answer!"

While the tale is amusing, it’s not at all clear that the post was genuine. No such fault is documented in Apple’s online support system, and it seems unlikely that a technology beginner would capitalise the phrase ‘Genius Bar’ while misspelling ‘iPhone’.

A subsequent reply from "Susan" in which she graphically described the picture doesn’t add to the credibility of the tale. "I wanted to remain open to the possibility that it was all some big mistake (I think that he is the big mistake) and thank everyone who provided input on this discussion," she wrote.

Most people responding on the forum derided Susan for her apparent cluelessness. "Your husband is cheating on you. You have the evidence. Now take him for everything he has," one poster commented.

One commenter did helpfully add, though, "It’s a glitch, but only happens if the pic is sufficiently raunchy."

LOL, What a dumb ass excuse! If she buys that she is truly the most gullible person in the world.

Hahaha! Watch Britney imitate her dad! This is cute!