A researcher from the University of Minnesota is using the popular MMORPG Everquest 2 to study human behavior. According to the researcher who is working on conjunction with colleagues at other universities the online populations, playing Everquest 2 is so large that the behavior mirrors that of traditional populations.

The researchers used the virtual world to model social and behavioral dynamics of individuals, groups, and networks within large communities. The study found evidence that social sciences are at the threshold of a fundamental shift not only in understanding but also in the ways used to study behavior.

The researchers say that Everquest 2 has over 300,000 players who average a whopping 26 hours per week playing the game. World of Warcraft has huge player base many times the amount of players that Everquest offers. I wonder why they opted for studying Everquest 2 rather than WoW.

Via U of W