With all the talk among politicians and mainstream media of video game violence turning our nation's kids into mindless killers, some researchers have actually been looking into some of the positive effects video games may have on people. It's already been demonstrated that games can help improve hand-eye coordination, and "exertainment" can aid overweight individuals in shedding pounds. Now new research indicates that certain games may promote sociability as well.

The old stereotype of an isolated, friendless gamer playing video games all day in a darkened basement is slowly fading away. With the advent of broadband Internet, online gaming and MMOs, gamers are playing together and socializing more and more everyday.

According to Constance Steinkuehler, a professor of education at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Dmitri Williams, a professor of speech communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, MMOs can "promote sociability and new worldviews." The two researchers liken the virtual worlds of MMOs to coffee shops or pubs where "social bridging" can take place. The duo published the study in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication under the title, "Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as 'Third Places,' " seemingly inspired by the classic TV show Cheers. ("Third places," it should be noted, was coined in 1999 by sociologist Ray Oldenburg to describe the physical places outside the home and workplace that people use for informal social interaction.)

"By providing places for social interaction and relationships beyond the workplace and home, MMOs have the capacity to function much like the hangouts of old," said Steinkuehler and Williams.

In the study, the two professors took a close look at Asheron's Call I and II and Lineage I and II, which they believe to represent "a fairly mainstream portion of the fantasy-based MMO market," which encourages cooperation and the formation of groups. Continuing the Cheers pub theme, they wrote that the gameplay in these MMOs is not a "single solitary interaction between an individual and a technology, but rather, is more akin to playing five-person poker in a neighborhood tavern that is accessible from your own living room."

The duo explains that MMOs can also expose gamers to ideas, worldviews and cultures they might not otherwise get a chance to experience. "... spending time in these social games helps people meet others not like them, even if it doesn't always lead to strong friendships. That kind of social horizon-broadening has been sorely lacking in American society for decades," explained Steinkuehler and Williams.

While MMOs can promote sociability, they don't necessarily lead to strong bonds. "Virtual worlds appear to function best as bridging mechanisms, rather than as bonding ones, although they do not entirely preclude social ties of the latter type," the two professors said. Indeed, it's not unheard of for MMO players to translate their virtual friendships into real-life ones, sometimes even leading to marriage.

While there's certainly a positive social element to MMOs, Steinkuehler and Williams do admit that these games can be unhealthy for some, especially those individuals that become addicted to the virtual world and substitute virtual friends for offline relationships. "It's really a question of what kind of balance the person has in their life," Williams said. "For that reason, online spaces are not a one-size-fits-all phenomenon that can simply be labeled 'good' or 'bad.' "