A study conducted by Nottingham Trent University confirms what many MMOGamers already know--Azeroth and Norrath are as good a place to make connections and meet people as anywhere else, and that most online gamers are inherently social people.

The study looked at almost 1,000 online gamers from across the world and ultimately found that "gamers make good friends with the people they meet in their virtual worlds, with almost half meeting in real-life situations and one in ten going on to develop physical relationships."

Among other things reported by the survey are bits of interest such as:

* More than 30 percent of participants found themselves attracted to another player.
* 40 percent choose to discuss sensitive issues with online friends rather than their real-life friends.
* One in five participants believed that MMORPGs had a negative effect on their relationships if their partner was not a player, while more than two-thirds felt they had a positive effect on their relationships with those who did play.
* Females were significantly more likely than males to be attracted to other players, and were far more likely to go on to date them.
* Most females gave 'therapeutic refreshment' as their main reason for playing, whereas most males stated 'curiosity, astonishment and interest' as reasons.
* Roughly one third of gamers reported they could be 'more themselves' in the game than in real life.

The complete study, Social Interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers, is scheduled to be published in the U.S. journal CyberPsychology and Behavior.

(Thanks to Joystiq for the find)