A website dedicated to men looking for a second wife, and women who choose to be the second wife has thousands of subscribers.

Secondwife.com was founded by Azad Chaiwala who told the The Star, “This is not a dating site.

“It’s for people who are serious about marriage. The sites are public because they’re not an invitation to break the law, which in Western countries prohibits polygamy.

“Weddings would be performed by religious officials or in ceremonies among friends, without official registration. If the pair is in a committed relationship, there’s no need for a piece of paper.”

The Canadian newspaper reports Chaiwala saying that he knew “at the age of 12” he wanted a polygamous future. He further revealed that when he married in 2005, “I let my wife and her family know how I felt. They were apprehensive, but they accepted it.”

Describing himself as an “entrepreneur” who made $1 million by the time he was 21, Chaiwala said that the idea of the website came to him when he was looking for a second wife.

According to The Star, Chaiwala maintains that secondwife.com is not for mail-order brides.

He also argues that polygamy is “natural” for men, yet at least 50 per cent of his website users are “educated, successful career women” who want marriage but may lack the time to devote to a partner.

Despite launching the website, Chaiwala said, “I am still monogamous.”