Two e-mail sweethearts who found love on the Internet are to marry.

Cleckheaton computer consultant Stephen Phillips got engaged last week while spending Christmas and New Year with American Mary-Ellen Pratt in Washington.

The three-week visit was the first time Stephen had met Mary-Ellen.

And, despite not fully recognising each other at Washington airport, they soon picked up where they'd left off in cyberspace.

Stephen, who runs Barnwood Business Solutions in Albion Street, said: "When I first spotted Mary-Ellen I recognised the face but her hair was blonde, not brown like the picture I'd been e-mailed.

"I was tired and I hadn't prepared what I was going to say but things took off after we'd calmed down."

Stephen, 51, jetted off to America in December with his 77-year-old mother Ethel, after spending more than 1,000 hours communicating with Mary-Ellen by computer.

The couple had struck up a relationship when Mary-Ellen, 46, got in touch after finding a personal profile of Stephen which he had completed after signing up to Internet service provider AOL.

During his stay, Stephen and his mother, who lives in Girlington, Bradford, visited Mary-Ellen's sister and brother-in-law in Stamford, New York State, as well as touring the US capital.

Stephen said: "We found it easy to get on because we'd talked about so much on-line before I went.

"Marriage was on the cards before I arrived and it was just a matter of checking each other out.

"We've not set a date yet. I'll be moving to America but I need to sort out how I can keep my business going from over there."

Mary-Ellen is head of the US Defence Department's child development and family welfare programme based at the Pentagon.

She will next see Stephen when she visits a US military base in Germany next month, said she had been surprised how fast things had moved this Christmas.

She said: "I figured we'd get on just fine and we did after getting over not recognising each other.

"I didn't expect to get engaged but it's very exciting for us.

"I joked we'd have to continue using the e-mail when he's here because I struggled to understand his Yorkshire accent!"

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