In my experience, desperate people with social problems rely on online dating sites. Not all, but most. You might get lucky though, some people do.

Personally, I could never do the online dating thing. Its not about what you have in common or how good you are when communicating online when it comes to those kind of relationships, but for me, its the physical interaction of live conversations with body languague, awkward moments, and little laughs with a spark to keep it going. :)
With all that being said, I do know a few people who it has worked for, but I would only recommend it as a last resort.