While there are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender-friendly groups that operate within massively multiplayer online games commonly referred to as MMOs, issues of sexual orientation take a backseat to slaying beasts or rival factions, researchers and gamers say. "If you come out in 'World of Warcraft' it doesn't matter. Who cares? You can be gay, straight, transgender. What matters is whether you can swing a sword," said Brathwaite. "It's pure MMO capitalism."

In an About.com poll taken last summer, nearly two-thirds of the 920 respondents said they play characters of the opposite sex in online role-playing games. Kathryn Wright, WomenGamers.com's consulting psychologist, earlier this decade found that 60 percent of male players who don female avatars, or on-screen personas, do it to gain an advantage in game play. An enthusiast with the online handle Jackpot649 nailed the Zeitgeist in his response to the About.com query: "I'm a guy, but if I gotta look at an avatar all day, I'd sooner look at a female avatar. Plus, people give you more free stuff."

Gamers, both male and female, say female avatars confirm what they already knew: Being a pretty girl has its perks. Female avatars are often the center of attention and showered with gifts such as swords or armor by other characters. They also, however, get unsolicited and sometimes condescending game play advice from the thousands of mostly male players who populate the MMO universe.