When strangers of the opposite sex are given the chance to meet face-to-face on high-definition telepresence gear and messaging is also an option, they tend to write personal notes to participants at the other sites, says Charles Stucki, vice president and general manager for the TelePresence Solutions Business Unit at Cisco.

A main audible conversation goes on among the participants, but some give each other the eye and shift to text-based interaction, he says -- teleflirtation.

Recently Stucki checked in with officials at New York University who had installed Cisco telepresence gear on its campus and connected with another campus in the United Kingdom. Students were allowed to use the gear to meet with random groups at the other end to see what use they would make of the technology, he says.

The students exhibited other unexpected behavior. For instance, Cisco initially created telepresence rooms so their lighting, furniture and wall colors matched to enhance the illusion that participants were in the same room. It turns out that the students would rather know where their counterparts are located than pretend they are in the same place, he says.