Duncan McIntyre from the Australian National University met Willa Hendrickson from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia, in an internet fantasy game.

After both wandered into a "Castle of Moral Decay", they struck up a conversation, with little expectation of it being anything more than an innocent chat. But after Duncan entertained biology student Willa with unlikely descriptions of Australian animals, they knew there was something special there. Soon after their first chat, the pair sent each other letters and photographs.

"It wasn't protocol to write so quickly but we just seemed to click right from the start," Willa said.

After six months, Duncan asked his mother for a fare to Atlanta so they could finally meet in person.

The trip, lasting a little over two months, cemented the pair's bond, and neither of them utilised the backup plans they created in case the meeting went wrong.

In fact, after Duncan had returned back to Canberra, the pair continued chatting before Willa got a special message flashing across her screen - Duncan had proposed.

"I actually thought a proposal over the internet was a bit cheesy," Duncan said. But he did not want to wait and, shortly after, he received a call from Willa accepting the proposal.

Willa and Duncan were living together in Yarralumla when they featured in the paper - the result of more than 600 messages and five international trips.

Sitting in their home was the computer Duncan had first used to message Willa.

It served as a backdrop for their wedding photo, a storage container of their first messages and proposal, and their reminder of the machine that kick-started their love story.

Visit: trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/14186495