Choose Black or White

Hello.. I am a new user here, and i want to ask how can i choose whether i play white or black in live games (non tournament)?

Right now, all i'm doing is hitting "Start Game" and it seems that white or black pieces are being assigned randomly.

Also, how can i browse a list of opponents/games (a-la table browsing in yahoo chess) so i can choose a specific opponent with specific settings?

Thanks..

If you play unrated games you can choose to play a particular colour. It's all in the settings

I could be wrong but I think you can only choose in unrated games.  If you play rated you need to take random.  I havent played live chess for some time and couldnt tell you on the second point.

Hey Ctizen...

In "Start a game", at the beginning there is a link about expanding filters. . . a check box reading something like "Select more options" take a look at it. . . you can select color