They Found Love In Online "Warcraft"

Online gamers enjoy adventure, collaboration and achievement -- all under the potentially isolating cloak of anonymity. It's a slippery slope that for some leads to addiction, not unlike alcohol or drug abuse, but a healthier approach to online gaming can bring families closer together. At least that's the angle of an article published today by BBC News.

The story profiles a few people who started playing games like the immensely popular World of Warcraft (or WoW) after getting dealt various setbacks, such as a breakup or divorce, or as a way to cope with empty nest syndrome. Instead of simply fading away, many of those profiled made profound connections with others. According to the article, the average age of WoW players is 25 and that nearly one-third of the estimated 11 million WoW players are women. So it's not just teenage boys logging into the virtual world.

A professional musician who felt drained and depressed after recording an album, during which time his relationship with the keyboardist was dissolving, turned to WoW as a way to escape. After a few days of "questing," he met up with a Warlock character and -- after discovering the gender of the human behind the alter-ego -- fell in love. But she lived in Greece and he lived in the UK, so they figured out a way to date electronically.

Over the weeks they swapped e-mails and their conversations took on a more erotic turn leading, as he put it, "to as I'm sure you can imagine cybersex. I suppose in the back of my mind for a short while I did wonder if she was being perfectly honest regarding her gender but once we spoke on the phone I was delighted to hear her perfect English, spoken with a very cute Greek accent."

They eventually met the old-fashioned way, hit it off in the real world as well, and now meet every three weeks and communicate via web cam when they're apart. I can imagine the brainstorming session at WoW corporate headquarters now -- "World of Warcraft dating service! Why not?"

(Photo courtesy Flickr)