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It has been widely reported that members of a medical research team, have been studying the effects of a virus, which infected an online game. Blizzard, the makers of the World of Warcraft game, introduced a virus into the online game, in order to give more experienced players a new dimension to their play. However, they had not expected the said virus, to spread and corrupt so much of the virtual world, which the players inhabit. In no time at all, the virus had spread throughout most of the game, affecting both experienced and novice players. I imagine for some, it caused a great deal of alarm.

As in the real world, the spread of viruses is unpredictable and usually rapid, and it is this similarity to real viruses that the experts have been studying. It is extremely difficult for scientists to study the effects of real viruses in the population, as there is no way of tracking exactly where and how it spreads. The recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth is a classic example of the unpredictability of this. There is no way of putting trackers in place to monitor its progress, only controls to prevent its spreading. However, with the WoW virus, its progress could be followed through the game quite easily. One presumes that because its spread was so rapid and so totally unexpected, the pattern it followed was almost identical to a real virus.

It seems strange, that an online game set in a virtual; fantasy world could actually have such an impact on the scientific world. At least then, there is some slight glimmer of hope that the thousands of people who forsake reality to populate this virtual world, may at last have been of some little use to society as a whole.

Author: Jane Holloway

http://www.woweasygold.com