Being in close confines with your partner during lockdown, you'd think you wouldn't want to risk getting caught cheating.

But that hasn't stopped Australians seeking an affair online during the coronavirus pandemic.

Married dating website Ashley Madison has seen 17,000 new members a day sign up across the world this year, up from 15,500 new members per day during 2019.

The website has also revealed Australia's top cities for cyber affairs during isolation, with Albury, Coffs Harbour and Newcastle in NSW taking out the top three spots.

Queensland leads the way though, with seven cities on the list.

Cheaters also appear to be using their work time to look for online affairs.

With working from home becoming commonplace, the site has seen a subtle shift in the time of day when conversations take place.

The hours between 10am and 11am and between 12pm and 3pm have seen a significant increase in messages over recent months.

The company thinks the shift to daytime hours for affair messaging is an indicator that people are potentially using work time as a cover to chat with a potential affair partner.

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In a survey of 1470 Ashley Madison members in March, as cities around the world started introducing social distancing and restrictions, 58 per cent complained their partner wasn't initiating sexual intimacy.

More than 40 per cent said they had become less attracted to their spouse being home together, while 68 per cent said they were masturbating just as much or more often since social distancing began.

Most members said they would be happier isolated with their affair partner than with their spouse.

Nearly 80 per cent of women said that social distancing had not influenced their already existing urge to cheat.

"These cyber affairs serve as a release valve for individuals dealing with increased pressures in their marriage and domestic lives," Paul Keable, chief strategy officer for Ashley Madison, said.

"With divorce rates reported to have increased in countries that have initiated their reopening, we're offering an alternative pathway to help people cope and ultimately help couples preserve their marriage once the dust has settled."

TOP 20 CITIES FOR CYBER AFFAIRS DURING SOCIAL ISOLATION

1. Albury, NSW

2. Coffs Harbour, NSW

3. Newcastle, NSW

4. Canberra, ACT

5. Bunbury, WA

6. Gold Coast, QLD

7. Mackay, QLD

8. Geelong, VIC

9. Rockhampton, QLD

10. Darwin, NT

11. Townsville, QLD

12. Toowoomba, QLD

13. Wollongong, NSW

14. Adelaide, SA

15. Cairns, QLD

16. Brisbane, QLD

17. Hobart, TAS

18. Sydney, NSW

19. Perth, WA

20. Melbourne, VIC

Originally published as 17,000 a day looking to cheat online