So surely a combination of the two would be a matching force that couldn't be beaten?

That's what the duo behind CitySwoon think. Husband and wife team Brett Couston and Louise O'Connor launched the events, which are a hybrid between online matching and face-to-face speed dating, and they're coming to Canberra for the first time this month.

They're unlikely people to work in dating - Couston's background is in finance and O'Connor is a programmer. When they lived in London, O'Connor, who worked in the male-dominated world of IT, found herself setting up her male colleagues with single friends. When they got back to Australia, they decided to take it further, developing their own unique matchmaking system and starting events.

Participants create a profile online, then buy tickets to the events they want to go to. They're then matched with the people going to the same event that the system determines they're most compatible with. The night is run similar to a speed dating event and everyone is sent a photo of each of their scheduled dates via sms. There's also lots of time for general mingling, including with those you may not have been matched with.

The next day, participants return to the website and can choose to communicate further with dates if they wish.

Their first Canberra event is at Treehouse Bar on November 17. There's another one planned for December and Couston said they plan to build up to two or three events a month, potentially adding in their ''adventure dating'' which involves more people and multiple venues.

Event details and tickets are at cityswoon.com/speed-dating-canberra.jsp.