Tracking down someone who shares your passion for Zemlinsky, intermediate skiing or offshore banking before Saturday might seem tough — but thanks to the latest revolution in romance, securing a genuine soulmate has never been easier or quicker. Forget speed dating: welcome to the esoteric world of niche dating. Whether you're into ballroom dancing, kittens or dirt bikes, there's a site out there for lonely hearts just like you.

Niche dating — narrowing down prospects according to religion, say, or ethnicity — is on the rise, judging from the evidence online. Hitwise, which measures online traffic, reports that last year the top five niche dating categories gained market share, while general matchmaking sites stayed about the same. The biggest gains were in the gay dating and religious dating categories.

Dating organizations serving such special interests as disabled singles, "full-figured" people and single parents abound and are attempting to improve on the age-old art of matchmaking.

But Concerned Singles and At the Gate offer a variation on niche dating services. They connect singles by ideology rather than common interest or mutual problems.