PROVO -- Student cupids in Utah County have created a high-tech kissing booth, using a Web site to hook up strangers for a little bit of "NCMO."
And that, in verbiage unique to Brigham Young University, a school with a moral code that prohibits premarital sex, is an acronym for "noncommittal make-out."The concept is really quite easy: An interested coed, who is looking for a 'kissing friend,' posts her name on the Web site, complete with a description of her physical attributes and her smooching savvy.
Guys who spot the online call for some lip-locking -- without the hassle of dinner and a movie -- respond with a time and place via e-mail.
The couple meets, perhaps in the tunnels near BYU's Marriott Center or at a local movie theater, kiss for awhile, then disappear into the night.
"I met one guy at the Provo mall," one female participant told the Deseret News via an e-mail. "I brought my girlfriends along just in case, but he was really nice, so we went to see a movie and we kissed afterward.
"He was a good kisser but hasn't called me back, which is fine with me."
The Web site's home page boasts, "Bringing the world together one kiss at a time," and includes philosophies about NCMO written by the site's creators, reported to be BYU and UVSC students.
Potential participants must read five rules before submitting information such as their height, weight, age, how many people they have kissed and whether their looks are above average, average or below average.
There is no charge for the service provided by the site.
Steve Baker, director of BYU's Honor Code office, said he looked at the site and doesn't see anything that technically would violate the school's honor code.
Baker, though, is concerned about student safety. There can be a dark side to arranging a "romantic" liaison through the Web site, he said.
"We've all heard of Internet meetings that haven't turned out well," he said.
Officials say the site is not affiliated with the school. Neither the university nor its moral code is mentioned by name on the site.
The site became popular in rapid fashion after news reports Thursday.
Users -- especially men -- added their aliases and information to the site's database throughout the day.
"I heard people talking about it when I was at work," said Amy Keller, who works at the LDS Church-owned school but attends classes at UVSC. "Everybody was talking about it at the library."
One woman who signed up on the Web site Thursday morning told the Deseret News she received 32 messages from men who saw her "NCMO" ad.
"I have no intention (of) meeting any of these guys," the woman said. "All the guys that have sent me pictures are not very cute."
Not all those who signed up were BYU students. Several said they attended UVSC, and one was a University of Utah student heading to law school in Boston.
Many of the postings were humorous, and several said they were just checking the service out, not really intending to pursue any kissing.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man nicknamed "Professor" said he was 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. His ad read simply, "Welcome to class, ladies."
UVSC students Rosemary Norton, Melanie Casdorph and Quinn Densley could only roll their eyes at the antics of their collegiate counterparts in Utah County.
No, they hadn't tried the site.
And, no, they never plan to.
"I know people who will go on," Norton said. "They are so desperate."