Carnal pleasure is often associated with sweat-soaked bodies rolling between sheets, but the bedroom is no longer the only place where one can enjoy sex. More and more people are seeking pleasure from sexually related encounters in the media. Conversations about sex are often frowned upon at work, shied away from among peers and avoided at home. There are just some things you don’t say, some things you keep to yourself for fear of being inappropriate or perverse. But today, all this is beginning to change. The media is reflecting what people want, which is reflected in the relaxed rating standards of movies, the exponential increase in online dating sites and growing popularity of online gaming as a source for online dating. People are becoming increasingly less shy about sex.

People looking to date would normally wait until they meet someone at work or in one of the social circles that they associate with. Now, however, people are taking more proactive measures to find lovers. In a new survey by Pew Internet and American Life Project, two facts explain budding Internet romance in the 21st century. Of the 10 million Internet users who say they are currently single and looking for partners, 74 percent say they have used the Internet in one way or another to further romantic interests; 15 percent know someone who has been in a long-term relationship or married someone they met online; and, 30 percent know someone who has at least dabbled in the online dating scene.

Online dating might attract more people because users can be anonymous and members can be instantly matched as they sign in. As popular online dating sites like Match.com, Yahoo Personals, True.com and U-Singles continue to enjoy bounteous returns, other more specific sites are popping up. Highly specialized sites centered on narrow areas enable singles to find exactly the kind of person they’re looking for. So if you’re a star trek fan, a cat lover or a highly spiritual individual, chances are there is a site just for people like you. Online dating allows users opportunities that conventional dating does not allow.

While many are playing love games on dating websites, a new breed of ballers are seeking pleasure in online interactive games. A slew of massively multiplayer online erotic games, or MMOEGs (also known as AMMORPG: adult massively multiplayer online role playing game), are making their way to the market. They are similar to MMOGs (massively multiplayer online game, also known as MMO), such as The Sims™ and Grand Theft Auto, except they’re for adults only. Recent technological innovation has made sexually explicit games more visually appealing, and year 2006 heralds the release of many of these games.

MMOGs rose in popularity shortly after the release of Sony Online's EverQuest in 1999. For many, it was a chance to escape to a world outside their normal humdrum life into a fantasy universe. They could embrace an alter ego and interact in a virtually created social network. With hundreds of thousands logged in at any one time, players were given the opportunity to find someone of similar interests.

Online gaming is seeing a surge in popularity. According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), half of all Americans play video games and 42 percent of them do so online. So far, it's attracted more men than women. Most online gamers, six out of 10, are male.

Flirting is quickly becoming a huge aspect of online games, since people can assume any personality and appearance they wish. With real-time chat, players can instantly communicate with friends or those they consider more than friends. Graphically, games are becoming more interactive. The characters are beginning to look more and more like real people. For example, Grand Theft Auto has been declared “the best game of all times”; the graphics are “spectacular”; and, the replay value “sky-high.” Unlike games of yore, Grand Theft Auto allows gamers to see more than 10 feet in front of them. Voice actors really draw the player into the storyline; the music variety is enormous, with a selection of 150 songs from the late 90s. You can also listen to your own custom soundtracks, a feature which makes game playing even more enjoyable. Even with the great clean gaming appeal, Grand Theft Auto has not been without some sexual elements, albeit subtle.

The first ever games summit was held in San Francisco on the design, development and technology of sex in video games, both in the United States and abroad. Mature themes and sexual content in games is in. Yes, gamers want to use weapons of mass destruction on their enemies but they also want to use their personal weapons on more obvious sexual targets. Well-known games such as Virtually Jenna, Playboy: The Mansion and even God of War are proof that sex is gaining a solid foothold in the video game industry.

Another such game, Naughty America, scheduled for release in fall 2006, will do just that. Virtually Jenna and Naughty America head the pornographic game industry. The game will allow players to make their own personas. They can choose skin color, body type, and clothing types. Choices can be changed at any time by visiting the plastic surgeon, clothing shops, tattoo parlors, hair salons and other of the game’s hot spots. And for the truly adventurous, Sex Mode awaits. Here they can engage in private chat, try out a few sex positions, and turn on the web cam option to turn up the heat. Players can get to know their new friends in a real-world fashion by reading other player’ profiles; nothing can stop you now from taking the plunge when you find that special someone.

Exchanging numbers, IMs and coffee dates are typical endings. Players who aren’t as daring can just visit the voyeur club and get a sneak peak at someone else's wild side.

Virtually Jenna, named after the famous porn star Jenna Jameson, allows users an interactive game to basically make their own porn. They can choose sex toys, clothes and sex positions. Enticed with invitations by Jenna like: “You wanna fuck me, don’t you?” or “This is the best fucking game ever!” the game makes it pretty hard to resist.

If Naughty America is not enough to cause you to relieve all that pent-up sexual energy, perhaps Rapture Online will do the trick. Developed by Black Love Interactive, this upcoming erotic fantasy game titled is designed to expand the scope of human experiences that games can communicate well. It goes far beyond popular life simulation games with explicit sexuality giving the player better customization, control, and interactivity than traditional dating simulation games. Black Love Interactive also hosts Sex in Games, an open forum for discussing sexuality in interactive entertainment software.

Even more, Japanese "perverted" anime, or hentai, provides anime lovers with the dual opportunity of sex in an anime world. Come See Me Tonight, for instance, is a multi-scenario love-sim game. This game is 100 percent uncensored, too, for full enjoyment of the erotic interactive story.

With increasingly explicit content in the media, safety becomes an issue. Could these games fall into the wrong hands? Are these sexual websites dangerous to those who frequent them?

Companies are taking matters into their own hands. The online dating site, TRUE.com, is noted for being the safest dating site to date. The online relationship service promotes the enhanced safety of its users by performing extensive criminal screening on all of its communicating members. So far the campaign, which started in Texas last year, has gained support in states across the country, including Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Michigan and now California.

Naughty America is not out of the loop. The gaming company has partnered with Sentry, the top background verification company in the online world. When a player subscribes, they may opt-in to a free background verification. Personal information is never passed to Naughty America; once verified, players receive an approval seal on their profile that communicates this status to other visitors.

Safety is not the only concern facing cutting-edge MMOEGs. It can also become addictive. In some, online games have replaced habits like going out to drink with the guys, watching hours of traditional ball games, and maybe even “another woman.” Some men have even lost their wives to the game because of neglect.

Either way, MMOEGs afford online gamers/users the opportunity to play out their role-playing fantasies. You could be schoolteacher in Louisville, Ky. during the day and a furious dominatrix at night. The possibilities are only a click away.