The Internet woods are thick with beautiful young wannabe international brides. They usually come from non-Western countries such as China, the Philippines, Russia, or the Ukraine. So what's going on? Are these women after love of money? Will she keep you smiling for the rest of your life leave you weeping in the arrival lounge after she bolts to freedom by climbing out the window of the Ladies Room (with your credit cards)?

The answer depends on who you ask. Most men who taken overseas brides haven't experienced such a horror story, but some of them have. Still others wish she had slipped out the Ladies Room, or at least that they could stamp her “Return to Sender” and haul her to the FedEx office. So do keep this in mind - how many Canadian women, for example, are on the Internet trying to Chinese or Russian men to marry? If you want an overseas bride, you're just going to have to understand that at least a good portion of her motivation is going to be a new life in a prosperous Western country.

But it's not all about money. There aren't all that many women on the Internet looking to marry Japanese men despite their relative wealth, because Japanese men (fairly or not) have a reputation of being domineering and accordingly are not popular marriage partners outside of Japan. It follows, then, that most of these women are not just after your wallet.

In many of the world's cultures, economics is considered the only legitimate reason for any “nice girl” to marry – “love” is considered to be just childish wishful thinking. Filipina women, to give one example, tend to be completely straightforward about their economic motivation. Nevertheless, most of these women genuinely do want to be “good wives” – meaning supportive and faithful. And most of them would be thrilled to actually fall in love with their husbands – it's just that they don't necessarily require this as a condition for marriage