How convenient. Just yesterday, I was railing against stereotypes of virtual world inhabitants. Today, out pops a survey stating that those stereotypes couldn’t be further off the mark. Players of EverQuest II were recruited in game and asked to fill out a web-based questionnaire.

The findings? Most of the “hardcore” players are female, gamers are healthier than average, and game-playing is becoming a more social activity. Some other interesting results came out – the rate of bisexuality among female players is five times the national average, and whereas male players’ goal was often to “win” and complete things, female gamers were more interested in the social aspects of the hobby.

Just as computing, and console gaming are now seen as gender-neutral activities, so will MMOs and virtual worlds be in the coming years. In the meantime, don’t necessarily expect that massive orc warrior in your dungeon to be a bloke.

(via BBC)

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