Online multiplayer computer games are a great target for scaremongers, just as any fairly new cultural activity embraced by a young generation has always been. A new study reveals that, far from encouraging withdrawl from social life, virtual environments may actually promote ‘social bridging’ and the adoption of new wider worldviews. The researchers also theorise that the lack of ‘hangouts’ in meatspace, thanks to a climate of paranoia over everything from terrorism to paedophilia, may actually be one of the main forces driving the youth into the metaverse. This would certainly explain the social networking phenomenon – the world is their shopping mall.