KEY POINTS:
You see him across the crowded train carriage. Dark hair, brown eyes, tall and looking good as he examines his iPod and listens to his music.
Mmmm. He looks nice, very nice, but what is he listening to?
Indie rock? Thrash metal? Top 40?
If only you could see that playlist, you would know so much about him, about how compatible you are and gain insights that could otherwise take months of stalking to get.
While it has long been said that the eyes are the window to the soul, today it may well be the screen of the ubiquitous iPod or any other MP3 player.
It can reveal one's past, personality and even whether one is ready for a relationship or still getting over one.
That little screen is the best window to the soul one could ask for, and those who have one carry it around in full view of the world.
Gold Coast real estate agent Brinton Keith, 31, has had an iPod for three years and listens to it when out on his speedboat and at the gym.
With "anything and everything" among his 7000 songs, he says the ones he plays most reflect his teenage years in the 1980s and 90s in Echuca, on the Murray River in Victoria.
"Probably my favourites are Midnight Oil, INXS, all that stuff you grew up listening to," Mr Keith says.
"The stuff I listened to as a teenager is the stuff I still listen to now."
He says his diverse playlist, which also includes Elton John, Ministry of Sound and opera, probably shows he is "open to anything".
"I get bored easily and I'm always looking for something new."
He thinks checking out a potential date's playlist would "paint a pretty quick picture of who the person is without them having to say anything".
And he knows what would turn him off straight away - anything top 40.
"I would think boring, generic. If you were sussing someone out, you wouldn't give them the flick straight away, but it would put up a pretty strong mindset ... I would think, oh, she's a bit of a nerd, if I saw Delta Goodrem and all that."
Dating expert for the singles website RSVP Lija Jarvis says an MP3 playlist can define someone's stage of life and indicate whether they are ready for dating.
"Playlists definitely reflect in the setting of dating what your mindset is," Ms Jarvis says.
"If you're out there and you're ready to date and you've got quite a positive outlook and you're quite excited about the thrill of finding someone, you might have quite a peppy, upbeat playlist.
"If you've just experienced a break-up you might be going back to reminiscing, your love songs, your slower, more romantic tracks and being a bit more reflective."
Ms Jarvis says checking out a prospective date's iPod playlist can be "a really great icebreaker" during those first nerve-racking phone calls, emails and dates.
"As an opening, asking: 'Are you into music? Have you got an iPod? What's on your current playlist?' It really does get people thinking."
The marketing director for retailer JB Hi-Fi, Scott Browning, says hundreds of thousands of MP3 players are sold every year, with most people buying them for themselves.
So with all these people wandering the streets wearing their hearts on their screens, when one spots that tall, dark, handsome stranger on the train bopping to his music, should one approach?
Yes, but with caution, is Ms Jarvis' advice.
"Yeah, absolutely, I think that's a very creative pick-up.
"The only thing is people I've noticed on public transport with iPods, they're usually doing it because they're trying to block out everything around them.
"So maybe catch them as they're getting off the train and say, 'Oh, I saw you bopping away. What were you listening to?' and try to get some conversation started that way."
And she says there are iPod dating dos-and-dont's.
Tips include looking for familiar artists and common ground in a prospective date's playlist, but don't be too much of a Nazi about someone's tastes.
"I think it's more just establishing common ground and some common preferences," Ms Jarvis says. "And that's really what music does, it brings people together. It's well known for doing that."
And these days, instead of making someone a tape, you can send them a song.
Singles now send songs to each other's inboxes over RSVP's send-a-song service, download songs for each other or send them internet links to tracks.
So, in today's digital cyber world, is the iPod the new window to thesoul?
Mr Keith thinks maybe it is.
What you put on your iPod, he says, shows "who you are" and what you listen to day to day reveals the mood you're in.
"Occupation, where you live, it's pretty generic," Mr Keith says, "and people don't want to put themselves out there very much, whereas your iPod selections probably delve a bit deeper into who you are."
MP3 DATING ETIQUETTE
DOS
* Do suss out your prospective date's iPod list.
* Do look for familiar artists or any common ground.
* Do use the iPod as a starting talking point.
* Do ask someone you like the look of what they are listening to.
* Do make yourself approachable to "potentials" by taking out your earpieces.
DON'TS
* Don't try to spy on someone's playlist over their shoulder.
* Don't try to talk if they look immersed in their music.
* Don't sing loudly along with your iPod (especially to Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing or similar) in public.
* Don't have an over-abundance of sad or daggy songs in your favourites.
- AAP
