Millions of British women have turned 'i-spies' in a bid to bag Mr Right, it was revealed yesterday.

A sneaky 70 per cent of women have carried out "suitability checks" on a man prior to a first date by using internet search engines and networking sites to unearth information.

Almost half of females have searched the net for a photo of an upcoming blind date - but for an unlucky four per cent the picture wasn't up to scratch and the women cancelled.

But only 21 per cent of men resort to websites to hunt for information on potential girlfriends according to a poll of 3,000 adults by dating site TopDates.co.uk

And the snooping doesn't stop at a first date - once they have got their claws in, 43 per cent of all women jump at the chance to read their other half's bank statement compared to only 30 per cent of men.

A desperate 12 per cent of girls have even sent a text to their boyfriend from a different number pretending to be someone else to see if they rise to bait.

A quarter of women say they have no qualms about looking through a partner's or date's phone - but 16 per cent have unearthed a secret they really didn't want to find out.

A quarter of British males now expect to be 'Googled' before heading off to meet a prospective girlfriend.

Elizabeth Harper, 26, of Cheltenham, Glos., is no stranger to hunting for information on new boyfriends on the interent.

The Office Manager said: ''I always turn to the web to find out dirt on new blokes, it's the quickest and easiest way of finding information on somebody you don't know that well.

''I start off with a general Google search, then I log on to Friends Reunited, Myspace and other big networking sites and more often than not you find something to go on. Local newspaper websites are also a good source of gossip.

''It's very rare that I don't find any information at all to go on but if I read something that I didn't like or found a dodgy photo I probably would cancel the date.

''I can't see any harm in doing what I do, it's only natural to be curious about a new date and do a bit of research on the net. It's no different to reseaching a company before an interview.

''It also gives you the upper hand when you're on the date, if you've Googled someone and found out they belong to a rugby club for example it gives you something to talk about.''

Richard Woodington spokesman for TopDates.co.uk said: ''It's a good thing that people are being so savvy when it comes to dating.

''It's only natural that people are going to be curious about forthcoming dates and having a peak on the internet for any information they can find on them is pretty harmless.

''Sneaking a look at bank statements and checking mobile phone messages is taking it to another level and you shouldn't do anything you wouldn't want done to yourself.

''TopDates.co.uk allows members to talk to a prospective date on the phone without giving out either phone number so it's another way to find out about someone. Internet dating is now a major way of meeting people so they need to go about it as safely as possible.''

An inquisitive 22 per cent of girls confessed to frequently driving past the house of someone they fancy to see if they're in and if any extra cars are on the drive.

A more stalkerish 40 per cent of girls would go a step further and said they would jump at the chance to run a police check on a boyfriend.

Not surprisingly two thirds of British blokes reckon the fairer sex is much more likely to snoop than men.