Given the often clandestine nature of the gay community, younger gay men will usually meet each other online, and when they meet a guy they like who lives far away, they'll sometimes start a "relationship." I've talked to way too many guys who seriously believe that they can have a healthy, real relationship with someone they've never met in person (and often, have never even seen via webcam) to find this all that surprising. There's nothing wrong with a long-distance relationship, as long as you've ACTUALLY MET IN THE FIRST PLACE.
On a related note, I've also talked to quite a few guys who have lied about their age or some other part of their life, usually in an attempt to titillate the guy they're chatting up. One of them actually pulled a Lennay Kekua and stole pictures from someone else - I only figured that out because they guy he stole pictures from happened to have a mutual Facebook friend with me, and I happened upon him. When I confronted the picture stealer, he stopped talking to me.