You've got yourself a date on the internet and are now looking for inspiration to make sure that crucial first date is going to be a hit. So what to do now?

If you are a man, you are maybe thinking: "How much is this going to cost me?"

If you are a woman, you must be thinking: "What am I going to wear?"..

Whether you are male or female, we all know how daunting a first date can be. You obviously want to plan something that will make your date smile and hopefully keep him or her interested and keen to arrange a second date. A key factor with online dating is that you can specify attributes of a potential partner to make sure you have stuff in common. This makes the first date easier as you should already know a bit about the person to choose dating activities that will be appropriate.

You have to take into account that if this person has already agreed to go on a date with you, there must be some chemistry and you should feel free to just be yourself. That's the main thing.

The tricky part is to choose where to go and what to do, so here's some inspiration:

- One of the obvious suggestions would be to go for a meal. This is quite likely the most popular of dating activities. If you decide this is what you want to do, make sure you know what sort of food your date likes, there's nothing worse than being invited to an italian restaurant when you hate pasta!

- Go for a long walk at the local park -if the park is nice, that is. it's a simple activity, it's free and gives you both plenty of time to get some conversation and flirting going.

- Theme parks are fun for people who love action and adrenaline kicks. You can talk to each other on the way to the roller-coaster and get to share an unusual experience together. Reactions to extreme activities will tell you a lot about someone's personality. So if extreme dating activities appeal to you then consider a theme park.

- When was the last time you visited the ZOO? It's maybe time to go back... that is if you like animals of course.

- Are you an arty-crafty kind of person? Art galleries and museums may be a good choice for you or, why don't you try pottery-making? You'd be surprised how much fun this can be. It is something you can both get involved with and have a good laugh at the same time. You may even create a lasting memory with this particular activity.

- Try wine-tasting. There are dozens of activities to choose from, visit www.buyagift.co.uk for more information.

Things to keep in mind for your first date:

- Plan ahead. If you're going somewhere you've never been before make sure you have the right address, get a map and plan how you'll ge there. You'll get points for being punctual! (see www.multimap.com)

- Avoid going to the cinema or bowling. There's not much opportunity to chat and it can make you feel awkward at the end. Although this is a very popular dating activity it really is not a good introduction.

- Some say "actions speak louder than words". If your actions don't match your words you can bet a second date is out of the question.

- Whatever you do, plan activities where you and your date won't be the only people around. Remember this is the first time you are together, you wouldn't go to an isolated place with a stranger so, be careful.

Whatever you do have fun and remember if you have any interesting dating activities that we haven't mentioned here then why not let us know about them. Email us at activities@ukdatingcircle.com