We've all heard people sneer at multiplayer online games, making comments like: "They're not real friends..." and "Virtual friendships only cause depression."

But is that really true? Is the enjoyment of massively multiplayer online games (MMO's) such as World of Warcraft and Everquest 2 really that much of a delusional, self-destructive endeavor?

Maybe not, so cheer up and keep grinding for those epic items in WoW.

A study conducted jointly by the University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois defies conventional wisdom about the nature and quality of virtual friendships. As GameDaily BIZ reports, the academic research suggests that MMO's can promote sociability and expose players to new worldviews.

It's certainly true that WoW guilds, for example, can become highly organized social structures. Cooperation and communication - often using voice communication apps such as Ventrilo - are keys to success in high-level raids and instances.

The study, "Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as 'Third Places'", published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, likens the MMO environment to that of a local coffee shop, or "third place", where social bridging takes place.

Constance Steinkuehler, a professor of education, and Dmitri Williams, a professor of speech communication, looked at Asheron's Call and Lineage, both of which require cooperation between players in order to advance in-game. GP readers may recall Professor Williams from his March appearance before a Senate subcommittee hearing on violent video games, as well as his 2005 study which examined aggression in MMO's. Currently, Williams is researching sexual diversity amongst gamers.

Steinkuehler and Williams explained the "Cheers" pub theme as it relates to online games:

"By providing places for social interaction and relationships beyond the workplace and home, MMO's have the capacity to function much like the hangouts of old... akin to playing five-person poker in a neighborhood tavern that is accessible from your own living room."

While not very useful at forging real-world bonds, Steinkuehler and Williams' study suggests that online games provide bridging mechanisms, as well as exposure to ideas, worldviews and cultures that players may not be experiencing outside the virtual world. This type of exposure is one that the researchers claim is sorely lacking in recent U.S. social history.

The study is cautious though, about players who are easily addicted to online gaming. Online relationships should not replace real-life ones, but they may be a healthy addition to one's overall social experiences.

"It's really a question of what kind of balance the person has in their life... For that reason, online spaces are not a one-size-fits-all phenomenon that can simply be labeled 'good' or 'bad.'

CM: Online acquaintances can be like the pen-pals of yesteryear. Those too can translate into real-world friendships. But if you find yourself consistently ditching real-life friends to go play with your virtual ones, maybe you should be asking yourself whether you've got a compulsion problem... or whether your real-life friends really ARE more boring than a typical MMO's leveling treadmill.

-Reporting from his local tavern where he's losing badly at sabacc, GP Correspondent Colin "Jabrwock" McInnes