Darryl Peebles meet ... Daryl Peebles

Darryl Peebles meet ... Daryl Peebles

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When an American minister, Darryl R. Peebles, typed his name into an Internet search engine he was surprised to find another Daryl R. Peebles living in the Australian island state of Tasmania. But the surprises kept coming.

After the minister contacted the Australian Daryl Peebles and over a series of e-mails the two found they had far more in common that just a name.

They were both born in 1949. Both have three children with a child born in 1975 and in 1977. Their fathers both came from small towns and worked on lathes of some kind.

The two Peebles also found they are both keen performers, and enjoyed magic, ventriloquism and playing music.

After over a year of e-mailing, the two men got together last weekend in Graham in North Carolina where the American Peebles runs the Providence Christian church and put on two variety shows for about 400 people. Neither was disappointed.

"It is as through we have known each other forever. Our minds and our personalities are so much alike. It's as if we were brothers," the minister Peebles told Reuters on Monday.

"What are the chance of finding someone with your name with so many similarities. I still can't believe it has happened."

The American Peebles said he now hoped one day to get to Tasmania for a second series of shows with the Australian Peebles, who works for the Tasmania government.