There is more to online role-playing games than pretending to be an elf or an orc and slaying dragons, according to new research from experts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who found that the adventures unfolding in virtual worlds sharpen scienti

The 10 million World of Warcraft players around the world will tell you they have no room in their lives for another game. But that hasn't stopped competitors trying to capture a slice of the burgeoning massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) market.

After Age of Conan's failure to attract big subscriber numbers earlier this year, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning last month got off to a much more promising start.

"In just one week we have half a million people playing WAR online, and the ranks of Order and Destruction are growing at a record-breaking pace for a new MMORPG," says Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of developer Mythic Entertainment. "We spent years working to provide players with the most stable, epic and polished online world we could but it is the players that have truly brought Age of Reckoning to life."

Associate producer Josh Drescher says Mythic's experience with online games such as Dark Age of Camelot was crucial. "We understood well in advance just how critical stability was to a launch," MrDrescher says. "If your players can't log in on day one, you've dropped the ball."

Based on the popular fantasy universe created by the Games Workshop, Warhammer Online has player-versus-player combat on a grand scale. It borrows many World of Warcraft conventions but MrDrescher describes it as a game that's "competitive and social", with players having a "measurable impact" on the world. "You get together with your friends and play. Half of you are on one side, co-operating, the other half are on the other side, competing against you."

Players invade enemy lands, besiege fortresses and sack sprawling cities for the glory of their realm using deadly weapons and magic.

World of Warcraft "widows" know the demands of some MMOs but MrDrescher says in Warhammer "you can have fun and accomplish things in 30minutes or less anywhere in the game". "If you have a job or a family or friends, you don't need to abandon them for a video game."

Mythic has implemented features to encourage social play, including "public quests" in which nearby players share the spoils. Grinding away at complete quests alone will not get you far but there are thankfully no queues.

"Nothing ruins the sense that you're an epic hero quite like having to wait in a line to fight the dragon," he says.