This question has come up a lot on this website, and I've noticed that it's almost always asked by people from cultures where interaction between men and women have traditionally been more restrained.

I hope you won't get offended if I say that, to a westerner, this looks like a very childish question. It's normal and <em>very</em> common for men and women to be friends here, and I suspect that anyone who says it's impossible has never even had a normal conversation with someone of the opposite sex their entire life.

let me make myself clear. im saying that there are those ppl who definitly interested in someone, but they just want to use the "friendship" excuse to keep a closer distence. some of them might being afraid to be rejected by another one, so they would like to keep this friendship forever rather than express their true feeling.

of course i cant say that there r no freindship at all between guys and girls, but its kind of rare for me.for exemple do u think that a guy will really doing his best to help one of his female friends when he doesnt have the feeling more than friendship to her?

I'm a woman, and there are many men who are my friends and nothing more.  I have had crushes on male friends in the past, but not often.  There have been three male friends I had crushes on (and none of them had crushes on me), and dozens who have been just friends.  So, it's definitely possible to have pure friendship between a man and a woman.

I'm agree with You, actually I've never understand that. Nevertheless I guess the pure friendship betwen a man and woman could be posible maybe for the first time. The thing is when some of these starts feeling others things. 

even an aquaintence also can be called friend.  ur neighborhood, ur classmates all can be ur friends.  but im saying the friend that u share everthing to and stay very close, dont u think that its more than friendship...

if one of my male friends wants to know about my condition that how am i going or what am i doing etc its totally ok. but im not gonna share my secret to him except he is my cousin or my family.

so i just want know that do u have those opposite sex friends that u can share everything to?