‘World of Warcraft’ may be better hunting ground for dates than dating sites

There are no shortage of people who are looking for love on the Internet. But a project by Online University suggests that dating websites might not be where you should be hoping to meet your soulmate.

Flying in the face of archaic gamer stereotypes, Online University found after studying data for both World of Warcraft and eHarmony that there were several ways that gave players on WoW an advantage.

Yahoo!'s Plugged In blog reports that WoW trumps popular dating site eHarmony in sheer numbers alone: over 12 million players subscribe to WoW, verus eHarmony's 1 million.

The WoW players spend more time online, too. On average, the players are in the game for about 30 hours a month, compared to only 30 minutes for the eHarmony users. Even if the eHarmony people are dedicating their time exclusively to finding a mate instead of battling the Horde, there's definitely still time to make a meaningful connection with a fellow guild member.

And if you need proof that people are actually acting on those connections, consider this: 74.7% of WoW players are dating someone else who plays the game, Online University states in their infographic. But they say only 33% people on the dating site they studied were dating others on the site.

The reasons why it might be easier to find love playing WoW rather than on a dating site are many. According to Online University, meeting people in an online game makes you act more honestly, creates an appealing uncertainty as to whether someone likes you or not, and provides an adrenaline rush, which is more likely to make you feel attracted to someone.

Your brain also releases dopamine while you game, which not only makes you feel good, but make decisions faster too, so you won't hesitate as long when deciding to finally ask that bewitching night elf if she'd like to meet you 'IRL' for coffee.

Add in the oft-quoted relationship advice that couples who have common interests are happier together, and you've got the workings for a beautiful courtship.

You can check out Online University's animated infographic here.