Well, I was going to point out how some guys would come and say 'oh we have plenty of female friends', though most of their social lives revolve around GS and online friends, who they might have met up in real life. Expanding the discussion to include people who actually have 'real' female friends that they met through the 'traditional' means, then its a diff ball game - the real litmus test, and the thread starter does have a point.
I kinda agree with u there.
as i also have some female friends for a long time now so i wont say that its not possible but the chances r very low. there is always a barrier. lets face it, wat is a friend? someone u can share everything with, but if u have even a lil bit of character u would know that u can not share everything with the opposite gender (or m the only backward paindoo conservative here).
and on top of all this is something forbidden by my Allah subhanawata'la so even if its possible we should not do it.
and again, m not saying its not possible, but the chances of being friends are so low.
and always remember its not only u who can be intimidated by ur friend, it could be ur friend intimidated towards u aswell.